The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has begun moves in profiling Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) in Nigeria and other suspects involved in money laundering and illicit financial flows.
This task, according to the Chairman of the ICPC, Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, will be carried out effectively using the database of the International Police (Interpol), adding that formal notice will be given to global leaders when tracking the suspects.
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Owasanoye, was quoted to have made these remarks at the end of a meeting by Heads of Nigerian Law Enforcement Agencies with top officials of Interpol in Lyon, France.
“The Commission will develop the habit of issuing notices especially on high profile suspects. Such notices will be seen globally on PEPs in particular,” Owasanoye was quoted to have said.
The spokesperson of the anti-graft agency, Mrs Azuka Ogugua noted that the commission’s chairman also disclosed that the Commission would join the Global Focal Point Network coordinated by Interpol as part of measures to tighten the noose around corrupt and criminal persons.
Ogugua explained that the Interpol is expected to support the law enforcement agencies in Nigeria through strengthening of information sharing, utilisation of the organisation’s database of global suspects, and prevention of incursion and influx of migrant terrorist fighters into Nigeria.
She added that the Interpol briefed the Nigerian delegation on Operation Gemini, a special project focusing on trans-border organised crime involving migration, human trafficking, drug trafficking corruption and financial crimes.
”Under the MoU signed with the Interpol, the Nigerian law enforcement agencies will have unrestricted access to global criminal databases. It is expected that this fresh collaboration will boost the capacity of law enforcement agencies in Nigeria to fulfill their mandates,” she stressed.
The Nigerian delegation to the meeting included top officials of the National Central Bureau Abuja (NCBA), Nigeria Police, Nigerian Navy, Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Others are Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Person (NAPTIP) and the ICPC.
