The Federal Government FG announced Wednesday that it has carried out a significant analytical operation with a focus on people who were funding the Boko Haram terrorist organization and its local affiliates.
FG claimed it had so far requested further information about the alleged financiers of terrorism from 28 nations, which it revealed during the opening session of a five-day Compliance Summit organized by the Inter-Governmental Action Group Against Money Laundering in West Africa, or GIABA.
Mr. Mohammed Jiya, the Director of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), stated that the government had received responses from nations such as Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Ghana, and Niger.
“The intelligence report presented to the government led to the development of an interagency operation, which resulted in the degradation of Boko Haram activities,” the head of the NFIU said.
“I am pleased to inform this group that the Chad platform on terrorism financing this week increased its membership to 11 countries, including observers Ghana, Guinea, and the Central African Republic as well as active members Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Mali, Burkina Faso, Togo, Niger, and Benin.
“The Chad Basin and Sahel countries will henceforth have meetings every three months. Both experience exchange and the operational success of security organizations benefit from this new synergy.
He noted that three of the top 10 countries in the 2022 Global Terrorism Index, GTI, were from West Africa and characterized the summit, which has the theme “Current and Emerging Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Issues,” as appropriate and urgent.
It will be recalled that in September of last year, Mr. Abubakar Malami, SAN, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, stated that the investigation to identify individuals responsible for the insurgents’ operations in the nation was well along.
According to him, the government would reveal their identities when it was suitable through a legal procedure that would involve prosecution.
The government would issue a statement in this regard when it is appropriate, he added, adding that the inquiry has proceeded to an advanced point.
Director-General of GIABA, Mr. Aba Kimelabalou, praised Nigeria’s efforts in the fight against money laundering and terrorism financing in West Africa during his speech at the conference.
He emphasized that recent actions taken by the nation, such as the signing into law of three crucial pieces of legislation to address found strategic weaknesses, showed Nigeria’s commitment to the fight against illicit financial flow.
According to him, the group accepted twelve mutual evaluation reports that showed there were serious flaws, particularly in terms of national coordination and collaboration, the supervision system, and the use of preventive actions by reporting institutions.
The deficiencies, according to Mr. Kimelabalou, had a negative effect on the performance levels of the analyzed countries, particularly in the areas of their policies and coordination, preventive measures, legal persons and arrangements, beneficial ownership, and financial intelligence.
The main goal of the summit, according to him, is to raise participants’ awareness of new terrorism and money laundering dangers, give them a forum to exchange experiences, and encourage teamwork and collaboration in order to effectively execute AML/CFT preventive measures.