The International Police Organisation (INTERPOL) has reported that hundreds of thousands of dollars are being laundered out of Nigeria to other African countries and around the world on an hourly basis.
Garba Baba Umar, the INTERPOL Vice President for Africa, highlighted this issue during the opening of a four-day workshop for Nigerian law enforcement agencies at the EFCC Academy in Abuja.
Umar pointed out that evidence shows substantial amounts of money are being illicitly moved out of Nigeria and laundered globally, enabling criminals to profit from their activities while honest Nigerians bear the burden. He emphasized that money laundering has taken on a disturbing scale across Africa and worldwide.
To combat this, INTERPOL has launched an initiative called “Silver Notices Against Money Laundering” aimed at addressing illicit financial flows. Umar stated that successful money laundering operations increase the country’s vulnerability to various crimes, including drugs, fraud, corruption, and violence. The “Silver Notices” initiative aims to make laundering illicit funds more challenging.
Umar, addressing the workshop’s theme “Strengthening Capacity and Coordination against Financial Crimes,” emphasized the transnational nature of financial crimes and the need for continuous training of law enforcement personnel to stay ahead of fraudsters.
The Executive Chairman of the EFCC, Ola Olukoyede, represented by Francis Usani, the Director of Fraud Risk Assessment and Control, stressed the importance of collaboration in tackling financial crimes. He noted that the complex nature of corruption requires collective action from all stakeholders.
Corruption has been identified as a major hindrance to Nigeria’s development, with calls for stronger resolve in the fight against it.
The criminality in Nigeria is appalling and is something else