The Inter-Govermental Action Group Against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) in its continuous effort to create awareness on money laundering within the West African region organized a 3-day National Training on Combating Terrorist Financing on Tuesday 17th September 2024 at Abuja Continental Hotel, Abuja, Nigeria.
The workshop which was declared opened by the Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), Hajiya Hafsat Bakari centered on equipping personnel with technical know-how in tackling acute terrorism in Nigeria and other West African countries.
In her opening remark, she noted that the training is essential to the building of capacities in order to effectively fight terrorist financing.
She also expressed her gratitutde to GIABA for organizing the Workshop. “Our continued partnership with GIABA and the collaboration of international partners like UNODC, and regional stakeholders have been instrumental in addressing the evolving threat of terrorism and its financing, not only in Nigeria, but across the West African region”.
She further stated that the NFIU would soon inaugrate a training centre which would serve as a centre of excellence for Anti Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing (AML/CFT).
“At the NFIU, we recognize that to successfully disrupt terrorist activities and ultimately dismantle terrorist organizations, efforts must be geared towards not only apprehending the individuals who commit acts of terror, but also to tracing and cutting off the funds that fuel their activities. Financial investigations are pivotal to this process. By analyzing patterns of transactions, identifying suspicious activities, and tracing funds across borders, we can uncover the sponsors and facilitators of terrorism”.
She further explained that the training would provide great opportunities for investigators and analysts to come to terms with new trends in investigations.
In his address, the Minister of interior Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo stated that a harmonised data base system that will enable authorities verify and authenticate any document issued in Nigeria will soon be inaugurated.
According to him, terrorism evolves and typologies are constantly shifting. To keep track and disrupt them, it requires specialized skills, deep and effective collaboration between agencies, and effective coordination with international partners.
The Minister then challenged ECOWAS and the African Union to ensure individual and corporate identity were protected to give the region a sense of security.
The Director General of GIABA, Mr Edwin Harris represented by Dr. Jeffrey isima disclosed that Nigeria’s performance in the last Mutual Evaluation by GIABA was not encouraging.
“Money is the life wire of all terror activities hence the need to cut the financial channels”. He explained that confiscation and freezing of terrorist assests is also an important element in fighting terrorism.”
The representative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Mr Kojo Attiso expressed concern that the West African region was becoming more intense with terror activities. He suggested that in order to effectively fight illicit financial flow and terrorism financing, there is the need to distrupt financial flow of the papatrators.
The workshop which ended yesterday Thursday, 19th September provided a unique opportunity for analysts, investigators, and prosecutors to enhance their knowledge and improve techniques in tracing licit and illicit funds that are channeled to financing terrorism and building strong cases against the financiers of terrorism.
Bukola
 in its continuous effort to create awareness on money laundering within the West African region organized a 3-day National Training on Combating Terrorist Financing on Tuesday 17th September 2024 at Abuja Continental Hotel, Abuja, Nigeria.){kind=link}