The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has intensified its anti-terrorism financing regulatory campaign, placing greater focus on how banks and other financial institutions identify, monitor, and report transactions linked to terrorism financing.

The apex bank, in a statement issued yesterday by the Acting Director, Corporate Communications and Investor Relations Department, Hakama Sidi-Ali, said the move was part of efforts to protect the financial system from abuse by illicit actors.

The heightened supervision will focus on four areas: terrorism financing risk management, transaction monitoring, implementation of targeted financial sanctions and suspicious transaction reporting related to terrorism financing.

The CBN said it would continue to apply a risk-based supervisory approach, combining on-site inspections with off-site surveillance to strengthen Anti-Money Laundering, Countering the Financing of Terrorism and Counter-Proliferation Financing (AML/CFT/CPF) controls across the financial sector.

It said the measures would be implemented in line with existing laws and regulatory requirements and would cover licensed deposit money banks and other financial institutions under its supervision.

The latest directive comes as Nigeria continues efforts to strengthen its compliance with global financial crime standards, including those of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which sets international standards for combating money laundering and terrorism financing.

The CBN said the increased focus was also in line with Nigeria’s domestic and international efforts to combat terrorism financing and proliferation financing, while protecting the integrity of the financial system.