The federal government has mapped out two pronged measures to combat terrorism financing in Nigeria, Minister of Interior , Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo disclosed on Tuesday.
Addressing participants attending a three day conference against money laundry organised by Inter Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) in Abuja, Tunji-Ojo who linked acute poverty level being the root cause of terrorism in most nations said the federal government was on the verge of completing the integrity and document authentication system, and individual/ corporate identity management as newest measures to combat terrorism financing in the country.
To this end, the Minister tasked agencies saddled with the responsibility of tackling terrorism financing, to scale up their intelligence gathering mechanisms on terrorism financing, as according to him, ” when people talk about physical warfare, terrorism, I tell people it is not just physical terrorism, it is economic terrorism”.
“Look at the terrorism index, you will know poverty is directly proportional to terrorism. So, when people talk about physical warfare terrorism; I tell people it is not just physical terrorism, it is economic terrorism. You do not fight a creative mind. Let me be sincere with you. If you are a robot, you cannot defeat a robot. These guys are the most brilliant people. Some of them are exceptional with high intellectual abilities and fast thinkers”.
“For us to be able to combat them, we need to know the world, which is where I think we should continue to work. So, when I speak , I’m speaking as someone who knows the world. It’s very interesting to fight because I’ll give you some statistics. Look at the 10 poorest countries in the world. This number can’t lie to you. Interestingly, in 49 out of 10- South Sudan, Bolivia , Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique , Niger , Malawi , Liberia and Madagascar.. Look at these countries”
“Then look at the list of the 10 richest countries in the world by virtue of their capital per capital index. The 10 richest countries with 10 biggest economies in the world. You look at the United States of America, that’s the top of the heap here.The United States, China, Germany, Japan, India, United Kingdom, France, Brazil, Egypt, and Canada. Tell me two of these countries where you have established terrorism? So, when you’re asking the question for Africa, why are we on the lower end of the ladder in the fight with terrorism? This is because the money that should have gone towards economic development, the money that should have gone into value acquisition; money that should have gone into creating a conducive environment for enterprise is gone. So, you’re off in Africa”, said the Minister.
Throwing more lights on two newest measures, he said: ” Number one, is what I call individual and corporate identity management . Individuals, the identity of everybody in Nigeria must be seen.Identity fraud must be nil. It would be impossible for one person to be able to open different accounts or for one person to have an account in this name , have insurance in another name . Because in the financial sector, a lot of people, insurers and other people are adults. Some even carry these discrepancies on the stock market- capital market, across the world, we must make sure that if you are to change your name anywhere, you have to change it everywhere. We must be able to understand that. And we must be able to understand corporate identities countries, companies, entities, agents, we must know the protocols, we must have real details of who we are, what we are, everything that we do. It is very important”, Minister said.
In her opening remark, Director/ Chief Executive Officer Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) Mrs Hafsat Abubakar Bakari said her agency’s continued partnership with GIABA and the collaboration of international partners like UNODC, and regional stakeholders had been instrumental in addressing the evolving threat of terrorism and its financing, not only in Nigeria, but across the West African region.
Hafsat tasked participants to equip themselves with the various ways terrorism financiers employ in carrying out their plans in order to neutralize it.
“This workshop could not be more timely or relevant as we seek to sharpen our collective response to this menace.At the NFIU, we recognize that to successfully disrupt terrorist activities and ultimately dismantle terrorist organizations, efforts must be geared towards not only apprehending the individuals who commit acts of terror, but also to tracing and cutting off the funds that fuel their activities. Financial investigations are pivotal to this process.
“By analyzing patterns of transactions, identifying suspicious activities, and tracing funds across borders, we can uncover the sponsors and facilitators of terrorism”, she said.
