[Breitbart] The government of China denied on Tuesday details in a report accusing its companies of bribing Nigerian terrorists in exchange for safe access to mineral-rich territories in the African country.
The original report, published last week by the U.K. newspaper The Times, claimed that “militant leaders” in the embattled country are openly bragging on social media about how much money they make from Chinese bribes. The videos, allegedly obtained through the firm SBM Intelligence, show Nigerian terrorists claiming that Chinese companies are comfortable paying “rent” and have become a lucrative income source for them.
| It identified only one terrorist group by name as having profited from Chinese mining operations in the country: Boko Haram. |
China has invested heavily in the past decade in expanding its influence throughout Africa, particularly through its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The BRI offers poor countries predatory loans through Chinese banks to be used to pay Chinese contractors to build roads, ports, and other infrastructure products. When the victim countries cannot pay back the loan, China seizes control of the projects. |