TI, GIABA Move To Curb Terrorism Financing

Transparency International in Nigeria, in collaboration with Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA), has convened a multi stakeholders dialogue on preventing terrorism financing and violent extremism.

At the occasion in Abuja,
the Executive Director, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, Auwal Musa-Rafsanjani said the dialogue was aimed at brainstorming on ways to address security challenges bedeviling the country.

While highlighting various forms in which terrorists get money to carry out their illicit activities Musa-Rafsanjani stressed that prevention of the menace should be prioritized to attract positive investment and sustainable development in the country.

“I must stress the fact that poor governance and corruption drive terrorism and violent extremism, which are among observed cases in the North-East of Nigeria.They provide an avenue to fund armed groups and criminal networks, prevent development of and weaken effective institutions of governance, depress social and economic development. Also, the religious dimension, which has to do with extremism, hard beliefs, and ideologies held and taught by some religious leaders has led to indulgence in the North East.”

“Every lawmaker represents a Constituency, they link national and state politics to the grassroots, reinforcing the notion that politics is essentially local and people-centred. However, inactive Legislative Constituency Offices across the country as a primary mechanism in detection and reporting of violent signals contributes to major policy neglect in the reporting system and structure.”

In a remark, Spokesman and Chairman House of Representatives committee on Media and Public Affairs, Akin Rotimi said the green chamber would prioritize strengthening the existing laws such as cyber crimes protection laws, Central Bank of Nigeria money laundering laws among others to address terrorism and transborder crimes.

Mr. Rotimi also urged the media to be more objective in their reportage putting into consideration National interest in reporting sensitive issues.

According to Rotimi “Terrorism, which knows no bounds and preys on the innocent, threatens
the fabric of our society. If we work together, we can destroy its network
and stop its evil plans. This we can do by restricting terrorists’ access to funds. We can stop them from using them to incite violence and terrorise the public. The only way to protect our communities from violent extremism is to be vigilant and work together”.

“But we’re not stopping at just fighting.Giving people who are susceptible to
extremist ideology, a chance and addressing the underlying factors that drive radicalization are top priorities to the 10th House as contained in our Legislative Agenda (Agenda 7).”

In their separate goodwill messages, the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ola Olukoyede and his counterpart at the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC Mr. Musa Aliyu, said the organisations would ensure any person or group financing activities of terrorism and extremism are brought to book.

The EFCC boss explained that “Part of the focus of the EFCC in the quest to tackle terrorism and violent extremism in that region is to follow the funds trail of critical actors in the region and cut off the supply line of illicit funds to known criminal groups. This responsibility has seen the Commission pay more attention to the movement of funds by NPOs in the region, who are now required to make a declaration to the EFCC.”

Musa Aliyu added that “ICPC is fully committed to contributing its expertise and resources to this fight. We are prepared to intensify our efforts in financial oversight, enhance our investigative and prosecutorial capacities, and work closely with all stakeholders to disrupt the financial networks that fuel terrorism”.

Florence Adewale, Edited By Grace Namiji