13th July, 2018
The Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership (CACOL) has backed President Muhammadu Buhari’s signing of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) Act.
The NFIU whose aim is to protect the Nigerian financial system and contribute to the global fight against money laundering, terrorism financing and related crimes through the provision of credible financial intelligence would be henceforth domiciled within the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
In a press release issued by CACOL, its Executive Chairman, Mr. Debo Adeniran, stated: “Not long ago, the signing of the Executive Order approving temporary forfeiture of suspicious assets in Nigeria by the President received a lot of public approval and now the signing of the NFIU Act to checkmate money laundering and terrorism financing is additional evidence that the President is serious about the on-going war against corruption”
He further stated that: “separating the unit from the EFCC is a good development as it will not only reduce the burden on EFCC to investigate corrupt practices in the country, but also help in streamlining the Anti-graft process by facilitating the diligent investigation and prosecution of corruption related crimes.
Mr. Adeniran added: “While the 2019 election is fast approaching, it is imperative to note that a lot of money laundering activities would ensue, but with the collective efforts of the NFIU, EFCC, and CBN, these sharp practices could be detected on time and intercepted to avert the crippling consequences of corruption crimes”.
He stated: “we must note that when fighting corruption, corruption will fight back. Hence, we must gird our loins in order to checkmate the counter-attacks designed to frustrate the anti-corruption war. We believe the President is on the right track and is throwing everything at his disposal to achieve his administration’s long term goal of eradicating corruption in Nigeria.”
CACOL thus advocated that the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) remained Independent and immune to all forces of external control with a mandate to either alter or hinder the unit from accomplishing its set goals.