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GIABA canvasses innovative tackling of graft in West Africa

By Joseph Chibueze, Abuja 
22 August 2023   |   3:13 am
The Inter-Governmental Action Group Against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) has called on countries in the sub-region to adopt a new approach in the fight against corruption, money laundering and terrorism financing to achieve results. Its Director General, Edwin Harris Jr., who made the appeal yesterday in Abuja at the opening of a stakeholders’ workshop on…
GIABA

The Inter-Governmental Action Group Against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) has called on countries in the sub-region to adopt a new approach in the fight against corruption, money laundering and terrorism financing to achieve results.

Its Director General, Edwin Harris Jr., who made the appeal yesterday in Abuja at the opening of a stakeholders’ workshop on the outcome of GIABA’s typologies on money laundering and terrorism financing risks, harped on the need for stiffer sanctions against corrupt leaders within the sub-region.

GIABA is a specialised institution of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) facilitating the adoption and implementation of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Counter Financing of Terrorism (CFT) strategies in the region.

Represented by the Director of Policy & Research, Muazu Umaru, the DG said the existing anti-corruption strategies in most ECOWAS member-states “are weak and/or incomprehensive.”

He continued: “Based on our work, we have identified that corruption thrives on three key elements – people, power and resources – that can be exploited or the gain to be made.

“We need innovative approaches and interventions that will target each of these key elements in a very comprehensive and collaborative manner.

“We need to ensure that only people of integrity have access to public resources. We need to ensure that the powers of individuals and offices are checked without constraining their ability to exercise it in a fair and just manner; and, we need to ring-face public resources to ensure that only people with good reasons have access to them, with full regard to due process.”

Harris Jr. observed that graft is now the major impediment to Africa’s development.
He advised nations within the ECOWAS region to put in place an independent accountability mechanism for law enforcement.

While welcoming the delegates, the Director of Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), Modibbo Harman Tukur, commended GIABA for its efforts in the fight against corruption and money laundering.

In his goodwill message, acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulkarim Chukkol, regretted that Nigeria is on the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force, owing to the unaddressed vulnerabilities in its anti-money laundering framework.

In her remarks, Solicitor-General of the Federation (SGF) and Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Justice, Mrs. Beatrice Jedy-Agba, assured the sub-regional body that the most populous black nation would intensify its anti-graft fight.

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