We’ve undertaken thorough investigation on people sponsoring Boko Haram — FG

The Federal Government said yesterday that it has conducted a massive analytical operation aimed at identifying people who were funding the Boko Haram terrorist organisation and its affiliates in the country.

The government revealed this during the inaugural session of a five-day Compliance Summit organized by the Inter-Governmental Action Group Against Money Laundering in West Africa, GIABA, and said it has so far sought further information about the suspected The NFIU boss said: “The intelligence report submitted to the government led to formation of inter agency operation, which resulted in degrading of Boko Haram activities.

“I am happy to intimate this gathering that the Chad platform on terrorism financing, last week, expanded its membership to 11 countries, active members as Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Mali, Burkina Faso, Togo, Niger and Benin; and observers as Ghana, Guinea and Central Africa Republic.

“Meetings will now be holding every three months with the Chad Basin and Sahel countries. This new synergy is good for both experience sharing and operational success of security agencies.” 

He described the summit, which has the theme, ‘’Current and Emerging Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Issues,” as apt and timely, noting that three of top 10 countries in the 2022 Global Terrorism Index, GTI, were from West Africa. terror financiers from 28 countries.

Mr. Mohammed Jiya, Director of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, stated that the government has received answers from nations such as Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Ghana, and Niger.

It will be remembered that in September, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, SAN, pushed on an investigation to uncover those responsible had reached advanced stage.

He said the government would at the appropriate time, disclose their identities through a judicial process that would entail prosecution.

“The position, as it stands, is that investigation has reached advanced stage and the government will make statement in that direction in due course,” he said.
Mr. Aba Kimelabalou, Director-General of GIABA, praised Nigeria’s leadership position in the fight against money laundering and terrorism funding in West Africa during his remarks at the meeting.

He emphasized that recent efforts taken by the government, such as the enactment of three major pieces of legislation to address identified strategic shortcomings, indicated Nigeria’s commitment to the fight against illicit money flows.

He stated that the organization approved twelve mutual assessment reports that revealed major shortcomings, particularly in national collaboration and coordination, the supervisory regime, and the adoption of preventative actions by reporting institutions.

According to Mr. Kimelabalou, the deficiencies had a negative influence on the analyzed countries’ performance, notably on their policies and coordination, preventative measures, legal persons and arrangements, beneficial ownership, as well as financial intelligence.

“The primary objective of this summit is to promote awareness on emerging money laundering and terrorist risks and provide a platform for participants to share experiences and foster cooperation and collaboration towards effective implementation of AML/CFT preventive measures,” he added.