Date Published: 03/17/11

Terrorist Financing: EFCC, Israel seek collaboration

In a bid to stem the tide of terrorism financing, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has expressed determination to collaborate with the State of Israel to achieve lasting impact in the fight against the scourge. The EFCC Chairman, Mrs Farida Waziri, stated this resolve on Thursday, March 17th , 2011 during a courtesy visit on the Commission by the Israeli Minister of Public Security, Mr. Itshak Aharonovick, the Israeli Ambassador to Nigeria , Mr Moshe Ram and other top Israeli government officials.

Aharonovick explained the workability of the Isreali’s criminal and anti-terrorism units and the rising challenge of ridding the country of crime-proned elements. He stressed the significant roles of whistle-blowers in the Isreali anti-corruption initiatives and disclosed that there are strong security covers for witnesses standing for the state against any culprit. More importantly, Aharonovick pointed out that “In Isreal, we hurt the pockets of criminals and terrorists so as to prevent them from frustrating their trials”. He expressed delight in the passage of the Anti-terrorism bill by the Nigerian government. “I was very pleased that the anti-terrorism bill has been passed in Nigeria . In Israel , we have had it for sometime now”, he said. The Minister further said that the fight against economic and financial crime was very crucial in the sustainability of any democratic process. “We know the important role the anti-corruption unit is playing today in Israel ”, he said.

In response, Waziri expressed the readiness of the federal government to fight terrorism as demonstrated by the passage of the Anti-Terrorism Bill. “Government is very serious in checking the menace of terrorism and everything is being done to achieve this”, she said. She called for increased collaboration between the EFCC and the Isreali government to ensure the success of the anti-graft and anti-terrorism war. “In this regard, regular capacity building programmes for the EFCC operatives will be very much appreciated. It might also be useful to work towards concluding an MOU with the National Unit for Financial Crimes, NUFC of Israel ”, she said. She also explained that the EFCC is working with some of Israeli law enforcement authorities to host a training programme in Abuja for the anti-graft operatives in the areas of terrorist financing, money laundering, asset tracing and tracking. Other Isreali government officials that accompanied Aharonovick and Ram on the courtesy visit to the EFCC include; George Deek, Deputy Head of Mission, Yaki Lopez; Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Isreal; Brigadier General Amos Yazcov, Commander, Border Police Training Centre; Yarou Hilma, Defence Industry, Isreal and other officials from the Prime Minister’s office.