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Nigeria has begun a review of its anti-money laundering and asset recovery systems as part of moves to prevent a return to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list when the country undergoes another evaluation in 2027.
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), yesterday, opened a three-day stocktake in Abuja to determine whether financial intelligence generated by government agencies is translating into investigations, prosecutions, convictions and recovery of illicit assets.
NFIU Chief Executive Officer, Hafsat Bakari, said the exercise was critical to Nigeria’s preparations for the FATF 3rd Round Mutual Evaluation Exercise.
“We want to be able to see how well the information and investigation lead to prosecution, seizure of assets and whether there’s a deterrent mechanism in place,” Bakari, who was represented by NFIU official Emmanuel Sotande, said.
She said the review would track how intelligence supplied by the NFIU was used by the ICPC and other agencies and whether it resulted in convictions, asset recovery and stronger deterrence against illicit financial flows.
“This is not a witch-hunt exercise but to ensure that we prepare for the next evaluation, which is going to be taking place next year.
“We want all institutional agencies and systems in Nigeria to be ready for the FATF assessors that will be coming from all parts of the world,” she said.
Bakari called for stronger collaboration among anti-corruption agencies, saying Nigeria must ensure it does not slip back onto the FATF grey list after the 2027 evaluation.
ICPC Chairman, Musa Aliyu, said the exercise would scrutinise the effectiveness of the country’s anti-corruption enforcement rather than merely examine the existence of laws and policies.
Represented by the commission’s Secretary, Clifford Oparaodu, Aliyu said the key test was whether financial intelligence was being converted into prosecutions, convictions, confiscation and effective management of recovered assets.
“A major focus will be on financial intelligence under Immediate Outcome 6. The question before the room: are agencies not just generating reports, but actually using them to trace illicit flows and freeze assets before they disappear?” he said.
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Aliyu said the exercise would assess Nigeria’s performance in risk understanding, international cooperation, use of financial intelligence, money laundering investigations and asset recovery.
He said investigators would also be assessed on whether their operations reflected Nigeria’s major corruption risks.
“We must show that our operations reflect where the real threats are, including bribery and grand corruption,” he said.
According to him, the ICPC has made parallel financial investigations mandatory in every corruption case to strengthen the tracing and recovery of illicit funds.
The commission, he added, was also leveraging the Corporate Affairs Commission’s Beneficial Ownership Register to expose corporate shells and had strengthened its system for managing recovered assets.
Aliyu warned, however, that having the necessary laws would not be sufficient to secure a favourable assessment without evidence of enforcement.
“Technical compliance is only half the battle. What ultimately safeguards our financial system is demonstrating high operational effectiveness across these Immediate Outcomes,” he said.
He urged investigators and prosecutors to provide verifiable evidence of convictions, confiscations and other enforcement outcomes, while asking country experts participating in the stocktake to identify weaknesses ahead of the main evaluation.
Bakari said FATF assessors would demand extensive data and evidence from Nigerian institutions, making coordination among the NFIU, ICPC and other agencies crucial.
“The assessors will be asking for a lot of information, which I am sure the ICPC already have, and it is only pertinent for us to work together,” she said.
