With a heart full of gratitude and profound joy, I wish to, on behalf of the entire members and all those that are associated with the Chartered Institute of Forensic and Investigative Professionals of Nigeria, appreciate and immensely thank the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, under the distinguished, dynamic, resilient and exemplary leadership of His Excellency, Senator Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan, PhD, CON, for their relentless support, which facilitated the expeditious passage of: “the Chartered Institute of Forensic and Investigative Professionals of Nigeria (Establishment) Bill, 2021” on Tuesday 2nd March, 2021.
Our immeasurable and unquantifiable appreciation also goes to the Leader of the 9th Senate, Distinguished Senator Abdullahi A. Yahaya, who graciously accepted our request to sponsor the bill, after having painstakingly studied and scrutinized in great detail, the overriding purports and laudable objectives of the bill, in view of its importance to the socio-economic development of our dear nation, Nigeria.
This development is indeed a milestone achievement by the 9th Senate and historic, as the passage of this Bill, will no doubt, give impetus to the Government’s fight against corruption and economic crimes, which have affected developmental initiatives of our Government over the years.
As you are all aware, crime, generally, has assumed a high level of sophistication, due to advancement in science and technology in the 21st Century. Therefore, there is a need for Nigeria to join the global trend of entrenching forensic investigative mechanism, through systemic and innovation training platforms, aimed at nipping in the bud, the hydra-headed monster called “corruption” which has dented the image of our dear country before the rest of the world.
By this legislative exercise, Nigeria has shown, without any iota of doubt, that it is ready to be part of the global paradigm shift in the fight against corruption in view of the fact that the conventional ways, currently being used to track and investigate financial and other related crimes, have become obsolete, anachronistic and cannot stand the test of time. This is so because crime has evolved over time and in order to fight it, a modern and multi-dimensional approach, made possible through the use of advanced techniques and acumen must be deployed. These, among others, are what the Chartered Institute of Forensic and Investigative Professionals is all about.
Undoubtedly, there are one or two hurdles to cross in our quests to conclude all legislative processes on the bill. However, we are hopeful that with the interest and support demonstrated so far by the Senate leadership, we are quite optimistic that all the necessary arrangements would be concluded and the Institute will be properly repositioned to carry out its functions in line with the provisions of the Bill.
On our part, we solemnly pledge to uphold the ethical codes and standard procedures of an Institute of this magnitude and ensure that the confidence reposed on us by the Senate and indeed, the entire country, will not be abused or jettisoned for whatsoever reason.
In conclusion, we wish to reiterate that words are not enough to convey the depth of our gratitude for the massive and overwhelming support, the Institute has enjoyed from the Senate, since the guest for the institutionalisation of this legal/legislative framework began.
All we can say is that posterity will remember the 9th Senate for this bold legislative step it has taken, which has portrayed it as a pro-active and resilient Senate, committed to the entrenchment of democratic core values, through the instrumentality of law-making, for the good government of the Federation.
Long live, the Chartered Institute of Forensic and Investigative Professionals of Nigeria!
Long live, the Senate of the Federal of Nigeria!
Long live, the Federal Republic of Nigeria!
Enape Victoria Ayishetu, PhD, Pro-tem President, Chartered Institute of Forensic and Investigative Professionals of Nigeria, writes from Abuja
