By Nkechi Eze
In a bid to to equip officers with the necessary skills to detect and prevent financial crimes, including money laundering and terrorist financing, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has teamed up with the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) to host a 2-day training workshop for 50 law enforcement officers from different agencies.
The Workshop, themed “Proactive Detection of Non/False Currency Declaration and Application of Appropriate Sanctions” was held on Tuesday and Wednesday, 28 – 29 January, 2025 at the EFCC Academy, Karu, Abuja.
According to a statement made available to newsmen by the commission’s spokesperson Dele Oyewale, the Executive Chairman, EFCC, Mr Ola Olukoyede while addressing participants said the workshop was a very important step by the government to exit the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force, FATF, stressing that, “the importance of Nigeria exiting the grey list can never be over emphasized.”
Speaking through the Commandant, EFCC Academy, Deputy Commander of EFCC, DCE Chinwe Ndubeze, reiterated that the workshop was aimed at equipping officers of the critical agencies manning various land borders, sea and the airports with the required investigative skills to proactively detect all forms of non or false declaration of currencies flowing in and out of the country, thereby tackling the menace of money laundering, terrorist financing and other forms of economic and financial crimes.
“Law enforcement agencies represented at the Workshop are; Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), Department of State Security (DSS), Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Nigeria Port Authority (NPA), Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), and Aviation Security.
“Officers of these agencies were trained to foster inter-Agency collaboration and formidable synergy needed to assist the EFCC and the NCS in implementing all recommended actions by the Financial Action Task Force in exiting Nigeria from the grey list by May, 2025
“The Workshop largely empowered participants with requisite skills for apprehending, prosecuting and sanctioning perpetrators of false and non-declared currency by punishing and denying them the opportunity to enjoy the proceeds of their crimes.
“The Comptroller-General of NCS, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, who was represented by Comptroller S.M Yahaya pointed out that, over the years, the NCS had maintained close collaboration with relevant agencies and stakeholders by exchanging ideas and vital information which have yielded dividends.
“We are proud of those successes and will continue to collaborate and synergize for the common goal of a safer and prosperous nation”, he said.
