From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
The Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) has described as untrue the Inter-governmental Action Group on Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) that the terror group, Islamic State’s West Africa Province (ISWAP) moved a whooping N18 billion annual revenue through the Nigerian financial system to fund its activities.
GIABA is a task force set up by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) for strengthening the capacity of member states towards the prevention and control of money laundering and terrorist financing in the region.
The federal government has come under heavy criticism for its failure to track the movement of funds by the terrorist groups, Boko Haram and ISWAP, through the country’s financial system.
The government was alleged not to have taken action on the matter notwithstanding the fact that the trial and conviction of terror sponsors from Nigeria by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia, who also made available intelligence on the convicted terror financiers to Nigeria.
In a statement Monday by its Chief Media Analyst, Ahmed Dikko, the NFIU further described the story as “totally outdated and was based on a 2019 country evaluation report which is literally stale and irrelevant today”.
According to the body, Nigeria’s counter terrorists financing efforts have practically moved forward since then.
“It is to the knowledge of the international community, our populace and the formal media organisations that several arrests were made through the on going Operation Service Wide approved by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA). The exercise is continuing and far from over”.
The NFIU stated further, “In addition all funding of violence from all sections of the country are being evidently analysed and reported to all relevant authorities according to law.
“It’s true that recently Nigeria fell a victim of illicit financial flows but overt and far reaching efforts are being executed by government to stem the bad practice.
“The ECOWAS body released its report to justify putting Nigeria’s Financial System under enhanced review process along side other countries in the Sahel.
“We had formally faulted the report to the ECOWAS body while agreeing to partner with them to carry out further review processes to jointly attain global best practices on all counter measures against local and cross border violent crimes disturbing the entire West Africa presently.
“All our neighbours have proofs of our exchange of terrorist financial intelligence with them real time,” the statement said.