What NFIU is doing to stop terrorism in Nigeria – CEO

Hafsat Bakari, the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), has revealed how the Unit is intercepting funds used to finance terrorist activities in the country before such transactions are carried out.

She noted that, “the NFIU’s ability in intercepting the finance that enables terrorists’ activities removes the vital oxygen that sustains these criminal networks and saves lives,” adding that “the quickest route to combating money laundering and its associated predicate offences is by denying criminals the illicit proceeds of their crimes.”

Speaking during the opening session of the Financial Intelligence Units Suspension Powers Workshop for the West, Central, Eastern, and Southern African Egmont Group regions in Abuja on Tuesday, Ms Bakari stated that the ability to deploy “stop orders” in recent times has helped prevent criminals from using their illicit proceeds to commit further crimes.

She noted that in the context of the modern, technology-enabled financial services industry, where funds are moved at the touch of a button, it is important that Financial Intelligence Units have disruptive capabilities to ensure that criminal funds can be effectively frozen and seized.

According to her, one of the key successes for the NFIU has been its ability to deploy stop orders in the framework of its international cooperation via the Egmont Group, “to freeze and return funds that are linked to fraud, and in particular business email compromise.”

The NFIU boss stressed that reducing the ability of fraudsters and other criminals to use their illicit proceeds has reduced the incentives to engage in these crimes.

Ms Bakari, however, stressed the importance of considering the ethical and moral limitations before the usage of the “stop orders” strategy.

Nigeria’s Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022 provides the NFIU with the powers to suspend transactions for a limited period.

Specifically, Section 7(6) of the Act allows the NFIU to issue a stop order directing financial institutions or designated non-financial businesses or professions to halt transactions for a period of 72 hours where the Unit suspects that the funds are linked to an illegal act.

Speaking with journalists at the same event, Lennaert Peek, a senior officer at the Egmont Centre of FIU Excellence and Leadership (ECOFEL), noted that the workshop was designed to ensure that African FIUs share best practices and challenges.

“Seventy percent of the FIUs in the world have suspension powers and today we are sharing the best practices and challenges that come with suspension powers,” Peek said.

In March this year, the Nigerian government identified and sanctioned 19 alleged terrorism financiers including six Bureau De Change (BDC) firms.

The identities of the alleged terrorism funders were revealed in the document issued by the Nigeria Sanctions Committee (NSC), headed by the Attorney General of the Federation.

The committee clarified that the sanctions affect “All funds or other assets that are owned or controlled by the designated persons and entities, and not only those that are tied to a particular act, plot, or threat of terrorism or terrorism financing.”

Prior to President Bola Tinubu’s assumption of office, the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari arrested 96 suspected sponsors of terrorism and 424 of their associates in 2021. The government also identified 123 companies, and 33 Bureau De Change (BDC) operators linked with terrorism by the fraud unit of the NFIU.

Though the suspects were detained for a long period, most of them were later freed; some were charged in court while others remained in detention, PREMIUM TIMES findings showed.