The Senate on Thursday, began consideration of a bill for a law to institute the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Agency (NFIU), currently under the EFCC, thereby moving a step closer to making the country’s financial intelligence unit totally independent.
This is premised on the heels of Nigeria's suspension from the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units, which is the highest inter-governmental association of intelligence agencies in the world.
The senate has also resolved to empower NFIU in line with international best practices, to relate with all countries on issues affecting its mandate at bilateral levels, as well as to ensure NFIU is legally and operationally autonomous with powers to employ, reward, train, promote and discipline its workforce independently.
These resolutions followed a motion sponsored by Sen. Chukwuka Utazi, Chairman, Committee on Anti-Corruption and Financial Crimes on “Dire implications of the suspension of Nigeria from the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units“,
Utazi mentioned that Nigeria was suspended until January, 2018 at the group’s meeting in China earlier in July, and that the group threaten to expel the country if it failed to meet the standards of financial intelligence operations.
According to Utazi, Nigeria’s suspension from the group was because the NFIU has not been granted operational autonomy and the unit was still domiciled within the EFCC.
Another reason, he said, was the meddlesomeness of the Acting Chairman of EFCC, Mr Ibrahim Magu, in the affairs of the unit, explaining that Magu was interfering in the operations and staffing of the unit.
He noted that by virtue of Nigeria’s membership of Egmont group, the country enjoyed providential information which was vital to the universal and local war against corruption and terrorism financing.
The committee chairman disclosed that one of the immediate effects of Nigeria’s suspension from the group was that the Egmont Secure Web had been shut against Nigeria.
He said that apart from the suspension, the group had given Nigeria up till December to address the issues or be expelled, adding that this would attract international sanctions against the country’s financial system.
Supporting the motion, Deputy President of the Senate, Sen. Ike Ekweremadu, said that based on the matter, there was a huge debate by the 7th Senate.
“The NFIU used to be a department in the EFCC. So what they do is to gather financial intelligence about bank transactions.
“And, because they get international funding and they are very influential, there was a huge debate where to domicile it, whether in the CBN or Office of the Attorney-General. There was an inter-agency rivalry.
Ekweremadu said what was essential was to direct the committee to prod a meeting with the stakeholders to come up with best practices.
In his remarks, President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, said that the suspension was a setback to the fight against corruption.
“And, as such, we must move swiftly because we cannot afford to be cut off from the Egmont Group.
“We must move swiftly and ensure that this suspension is lifted and one of the things we need to do is to ensure that we pass this bill as soon as possible and give independence to NFIU.
“Other activities that must have led to this must be stopped.
“The committee on anti-corruption will carry out their oversight to ensure that the sooner we get the suspension lifted the better for our image and the fight against corruption,” Saraki said.
