NFIU faults ECOWAS report on B/Haram, ISWAP funding

The Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) Monday faulted a report that Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists moved about N18bn ($36m) generated from trading and taxing communities in the Lake Chad region through the Nigerian financial system annually.

The Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa, established by the Economic Community of West African States, had in its report, said both Boko Haram and ISWAP had continued to mobilise, move and utilise funds through the formal financial and commercial system.

But the NFIU described the report as ‘’untrue’’ adding that the story was “totally outdated and was based on a 2019 country evaluation report which is literally stale and irrelevant today”.

Chief Media Analyst, NFIU, Ahmed Dikko, in a statement, said: ‘’It is to the knowledge of the international community, our populace and the formal media organisations that several arrests were made through the ongoing Operation Service Wide approved by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA).

‘’The exercise is continuing and far from over. 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 alongside 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”.