The Federal Government has said it has finished the investigation into individuals financing the Boko Haram terrorist group in the country.
The government revealed this at the opening session of a five-day Compliance Summit organized by the Inter-Governmental Action Group Against Money Laundering in West Africa, GIABA.
According to Mr. Mohammed Jiya, the Director of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, NFIU he said the Federal Government has requested from 28 countries including Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Ghana, and Niger more information about the suspected terrorist financiers.
“The intelligence report submitted to the government led to the formation of inter-agency operation, which resulted in degrading of Boko Haram activities.
“I am happy to intimate this gathering that the Chad platform on terrorism financing, last week, expanded its membership to 11 countries, active members as Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Mali, Burkina Faso, Togo, Niger, and Benin; and observers as Ghana, Guinea, and the Central Africa Republic.
“Meetings will now be held every three months with the Chad Basin and Sahel countries. This new synergy is good for both experience sharing and operational success of security agencies,” the NFIU boss said.
He explained the summit, which has the theme, ‘’Current and Emerging Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Issues,” as apt and timely, noting that three of the top 10 countries in the 2022 Global Terrorism Index, GTI, were from West Africa.
The declaration comes after Mr. Abubakar Malami, SAN the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, said last September that the investigation to unravel those behind the activities of insurgents in the country had reached an advanced stage.
He said the government would at the appropriate time, disclose their identities through a judicial process that would entail prosecution.
“The position, as it stands, is that investigation has reached an advanced stage and the government will make a statement in that direction in due course,” he said.
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