NFIU to sack NGOs, foreign firms financing terrorism, others

Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) has commenced series of activities to check crime and fraud, particularly by Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and foreign firms operating in the country.

Among such crimes are financing of terrorism, illegal mining and proliferation of weapons.

Director of NFIU, Mr. Modibbo Hamman-Tukur, disclosed this in Abuja yesterday during the 2019 Sub-regional Conference on Illicit Financial Flow and Assets Recovery themed ‘Increasing Citizens’ Participation in Curbing the Illicit Flow and Repatriation of Stolen Funds within and from West Africa’ organised by Human Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA).

Hamman-Tukur also revealed that the anti-graft agency had started reversing some of the transactions of the people arrested in the United States (U.S.) for internet scam.

According to him, as recent as Friday, we were still reversing some of the transactions of those few people arrested in the U.S., reverting the monies to their main coffers.

The country has over 52,000 registered NGOs in its database, and that the ones not qualified will be deregistered, he noted.

The anti-graft boss said that the agency had already met with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), as part of collaboration to deregister fake NGOs.

“NGOs that have been caught in terrorism financing investigation will also be removed from existence. NGOs have been found in issues and areas of proliferation of weapons, intermittent and short-rage weapons, though most of them are foreign, they will be deregistered,” he said.

According to him, NFIU has discovered that most of the 52,000 NGOs are being used for illicit financial transactions to fund terrorism.

Tukur noted that regional cooperation was needed to tackle the financial crimes all over the world.

“The West African Single Currency will create a massive economic environment, but that won’t happened without illicit financial inflow which we must be ready to tackle,” he stated.

Special Adviser to the President on Economic Matters, Office of the Vice President, Dr. Adeyemi Dipeolu, said illicit financial flow in Africa was on the increase.

In his keynote speech, he identified the need for political will to address illicit financial flow, adding that people should look also at transparency.

“With transparency, illicit financial inflow will stop. People must insist on transparent management of resources and legal financial flow,” he said.

Also, presidential adviser on social re-investment programme, Mrs. Maryam Uwais, insisted that cross border illicit financial flow must be tackled.

She disclosed that her office was working out a transparent system to enhance good governance.