By John Azu
The Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ) has called for stronger collaboration between journalists and civil society organisations (CSOs) to combat the estimated $40 billion Nigeria loses annually through illicit financial flows (IFFs).
The Deputy Executive Director of ANEEJ, Leo Atakpu, made the call on Thursday at the opening of a two-day workshop for journalists on addressing illicit financial flows in Nigeria. The workshop was organised by ANEEJ in partnership with the European Union’s SecFin Africa programme in Abuja.
Atakpu noted that the United Nations estimates that about $86 billion leaves Africa annually through illicit financial flows—an amount equivalent to the continent’s combined inflows of official development assistance and foreign direct investment.
He described illicit financial flows as a major obstacle to Nigeria’s development, saying they deprive the country of resources needed for critical sectors such as infrastructure, healthcare, education and security, while also contributing to brain drain.
“Insecurity, as we are seeing today in Nigeria, terrorism, kidnapping, banditry, etc, does not just happen, they are tied to aids, to the support they are getting through criminal channels,” he said.
According to Atakpu, the SecFin Africa initiative is aimed at promoting stability and security in Nigeria and across Sub-Saharan Africa by addressing the damaging impact of illicit financial flows.
In her goodwill message, the Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), Hafsat Abubakar Bakari, said the media and civil society organisations have played a critical role in supporting the agency’s work by providing valuable intelligence.
Bakari, who was represented by Director Ibrahim Baba Mohammed, said such intelligence had been followed up, reverse-engineered through investigations, and had resulted in successful prosecutions.
She challenged journalists to intensify their efforts in promoting accountability and transparency through factual, balanced and investigative reporting.
“You guys have a distinct but complementary role to play as one of the nation’s most powerful accountability institutions,” he said.
Also speaking, the representative of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s (EFCC) Special Control Unit Against Money Laundering (SCUML), Mohammed Isa, said the department would continue to strengthen transparency in business processes and procedures as part of efforts to curb illicit financial flows.
He reaffirmed SCUML’s commitment to implementing measures that promote accountability and reduce opportunities for financial crimes in Nigeria.