With the help of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), the Nigerian government has launched a program to guarantee that the nation will not be included on the Action Task Force (FATF) Grey List by May 2025.
The President ordered the NFIU to engage with NITDA to create and carry out an Anti-Money Laundering/Counter Financial Terrorism/Counter Proliferation of Firearms Data Management Framework and Platform.
The NITDA Director General, Kashifu Inuwa, revealed yesterday that the first technical session to begin the process at the NITDA Headquarters in Abuja would be a “remarkable mile in the country’s journey to exit from the Financial Action Task Force Grey List the nation has been enlisted into since February 2013.”
He claimed that seven issues—including the country’s growing capital inflows, its inadequacies in fighting money laundering, its inadequacies in fighting arms financing, and its inadequacies in fighting terrorism financing—were the reason behind the country’s inclusion on the Grey List.
According to him, other factors include “the nation’s deficiencies in the anti-money laundering regime, the counter-terrorism financing regime, and the counter-arms proliferation financing regime.”
He noted that the desire of the President to combat corruption and financial crime through innovation and technology necessitated his directive to NITDA to work with NIFU to build a system that would help NFIU to better manage financial data and compliance in the country.
He said, “Today we are kick-starting a meeting to start that project that will take us out of the Grey List and build that robust system. The main objective of the system is to help us with global compliance and to help Nigeria position itself as a key player in the global effort to combat financial terrorism and other crimes. This will help us to create visibility in Nigeria as well as improve our global reputation and relationship in the financial market.”
While maintaining that the initiative will help in improving national security because of its capability to see any financial transaction inflow into the country, the NITDA boss maintained that it will also help to “track any illicit flow as well as empower us to highlight or identify criminal networks in our financial sector.”
Inuwa averred that the system will strengthen the nation’s law enforcement and the economy because it will tame crime in the economy, which will encourage investment in the country.
In her remarks, the NFIU Chief Executive Officer, Barrister Hafsat Abubakar Bakari, described the project as a “game changer” because it will not only help the country to exit the grey list as directed by the president but also improve the Data Integration Management System for Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AMLCFT.)
While acknowledging the introduction of technology in the way things are now being done at the NFIU, she called on Nigerians to support the initiative of not only the exiting of the grey list but to sustain the gains that the country has made from it.
She said, “The Grey List is not just a one-off project; it is a continuous project. The next cycle of evaluation will be done in the year 2027, and we do not want a situation where we exit from the Grey List and another evaluation is conducted by the FITF, and we find ourselves back on the Grey List again.”
Barrister Bakari added that. “This is why we have decided that the use of technology will give credibility to every statistic that we have, not just to our domestic stakeholders but also to our international partners. Everything should be done in real-time and accessible, credible, and factual, and that is the project that we are doing today.”
While expressing her gratitude to NITDA and the Director General for their contributions to the project and another national service, she noted that she believes in the local content initiative, and that was why the NFIU submitted to Mr. President that NITDA should drive the process, which he “graciously approved.”
“So, congratulations, NITDA, for the confidence that the NFIU has in you and for the confidence that Mr President has in you to drive this project,” she noted.
The Chairman of the House Committee on Information and Communication Technology and Cyber Security, Honourable Adedeji Olajide, who also graced the event, assured both NITDA and NFIU of legislative support in their quest to secure the country against the illicit financial flow and other vices.
While acknowledging that it was a welcome development to see the executive and the legislator working together to achieve common goals in our country, Honourable Olajide said, “You can be sure of it that you have all of the legislative support to get whatever you need to be done, and we will make sure there are no stumbling blocks in your way.”
He said it has become imperative to “change the narrative” and position Nigeria to its rightful place among the comity of a nation, adding that he understood all the benefits and values the introduction of technology will bring to NFIU operations.
He said, “Nigeria is going to take its rightful place as the giant of Africa. We are going to lead the way in cutting-edge technologies to make sure that Nigeria has all of the right people, the right processes, and the right technology to move the country to the next level which is also in line with the agenda of Mr. President Ahmed Bola, who is also a technology person.”
The objectives of the AML/CFT/CPF Data Management Framework/Platform are to achieve FATF compliance, enable Nigeria’s removal from the Grey List and restore international confidence, enhance NFIU’s operational capacity through automation, intelligence integration, and scalability, establish a robust and sustainable framework to ensure long-term operational and financial independence, and position Nigeria as a global leader in financial intelligence and AML/CFT practices, setting benchmarks for other nations
The development and implementation of this platform are imperative to addressing the identified gaps, strengthening Nigeria’s financial integrity, and securing its place as a trusted partner in the global financial ecosystem.
