House Passes Bill Setting Up Financial Intel Agency

The Nigerian House of Representatives has passed the Nigerian Financial
Intelligence Center Bill.

The bill which was earlier passed by the Senate seeks to establish the
Nigerian Financial Intelligence Center to perform the traditional function
of collecting, analyzing and disseminating financial intelligence to law
enforcement agencies and other authorized entities.

It is designed to provide a sustainable and credible legal framework for
the Financial Intelligence Center-FIC, Nigeria. As is the accepted
practice in other jurisdictions, the Bill seeks to provide the FIC with
operational independence and autonomy, and greater ability to provide
financial intelligence to all relevant competent authorities in order to
strengthen anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism
(AML/CFT) measures.

The NFIC Bill was a subject of controversy following what pundits describe
as “several misconceptions caused by distortion of facts by those opposed
to its passage.”

It would be recalled that the third reading and passage of the Bill
suffered setback following a strong opposition from a group in the lower
Chamber, who earlier claimed not to have received copies of the report of
the House Committee on Drugs, Narcotics and Financial crimes.

Reacting to the passage of the bill, the Chairman, House of
Representatives Committee on Drugs, Narcotics and Financial Crimes, Hon.
Jagaba Adams Jagaba described it as another show of the commitment of the
present House leadership in the war against money laundering, terrorism
and corruption in Nigeria.

Jagaba commended his colleagues for their support, even as he spoke of the
need for credible and competent persons to be appointed to head the
Center.

Adding his voice, Executive Director, Media Initiative against Injustice,
Violence and Corruption-MIIVOC, Walter Duru commended the lawmakers for
the passage, even as he challenged them on other related anti-corruption
bills.

He described the proposed Nigeria Financial Intelligence Center as central
to the success of the war against money laundering and terrorist financing
in Nigeria.

Duru, a Communication and Civil Society expert reiterated the commitment
of the Initiative to sustaining the war against corruption in Nigeria,
describing it as the country’s greatest problem.

“MIIVOC shall never relent in this struggle. Corruption is Nigeria’s
greatest and most formidable problem. We also urge the lawmakers to make
haste to pass other related anti-corruption related bills, especially, the
Proceeds of Crime, Whistle Blowers Protection and Mutual Legal Assistance
Bills.”

This NFIC Bill is aimed to establish a national agency that will be
responsible for the receipt of information from financial institutions and
designated non-financial institutions, analysis of the financial
information for the purpose of turning this information into financial
intelligence and dissemination of the financial intelligence to all law
enforcement agencies.

The Bill will ensure that the NFIU is not tied to any agency but will have
adequate measures to build an independent financial intelligence system.