Police, NFIU partner to combat money laundering, terrorism financing

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The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, has pledged stronger collaboration between the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit to combat money laundering, terrorism financing and other financial crimes.

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Disu gave the assurance while receiving the Director and Chief Executive Officer of the NFIU, Hafsat Bakari, during a courtesy visit to the Force Headquarters in Abuja.

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According to a statement issued on Wednesday by the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Ani Iniedu, the visit centred on strengthening operational synergy, enhancing information sharing and institutionalising strategic collaboration between the two agencies.

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Bakari, who led a delegation of senior NFIU officials, described the partnership between the NFIU and the police as critical to Nigeria’s national security architecture.

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She said the 2027 Mutual Evaluation would assess how effectively the police utilise financial intelligence provided by the NFIU to dismantle money laundering networks, combat terrorism financing and secure convictions in related offences.

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“The forthcoming 2027 Mutual Evaluation will critically assess how effectively the Police utilises NFIU financial intelligence to dismantle money laundering networks, counter terrorism financing, and secure prosecutions in related financial crimes,” she said.

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The NFIU boss commended the Inspector-General for approving a joint stock-taking exercise between the two agencies and called for deeper institutional cooperation.

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She also advocated expanding Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism awareness programmes to police commands and formations nationwide.

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Bakari stressed the need to build sustainable institutional capacity rather than rely on isolated successes and extended condolences to the police over officers who recently died in the line of duty.

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Responding, Disu called for a stronger partnership between the two organisations, noting that the Force’s specialised Anti-Money Laundering Unit and other operational divisions play key roles in investigating financial crimes, terrorism financing, banditry and other transnational offences.

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The IGP described anti-money laundering investigations as highly technical and urged the NFIU to sustain advanced training for specialised police personnel.

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He also requested continued access to actionable financial intelligence and modern investigative tools to improve the quality of investigations and increase conviction rates.

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The police reaffirmed their commitment to working with strategic partners, including the NFIU, to enhance operational capacity, safeguard national security and strengthen public confidence in law enforcement.

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The NFIU Director was accompanied by a high-level delegation comprising the Chief of Staff, Mohammed Ahmed; General Counsel, Felix Obiamalu; Chief Operating Officer, Law Enforcement Agencies, Emmanuel Sotande; Chief Operating Officer, Information Security Systems, Abdulrahman Mustapha; Special Adviser on Operations, Douglas Egwuemi; and Special Adviser on Administration, Mustapha Awaisu.

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