Africa Network for Environmental and Economic Justice, ANEEJ, has urged members of Civil Society Organisations, CSOs, to prioritise the investigation of Illicit Financial Flows, IFF, from Nigeria and Africa to other parts of the world.
The Executive Director of ANEEJ, Rev David Ugolor, gave the charge in Uyo on Wednesday, at a two-day workshop themed: “Strengthening CSOs and Media Capacity to Contribute to the Fight Against Illicit Financial Flows, IFFs.’’
Describing IFF as a threat to Nigeria’s economic stability, Ugolor regretted that Nigeria has lost a substantial amount of money to the process, which, according to him, would have been used for the development of the economy and expansion of public services.
He said that ordinary citizens have been left to bear the brunt of illicit financial flows.
Buttressing his point, he mentioned the present Benin-Sapele road, where the contractor reportedly carted away N140b, leaving the people to face untold hardship.
“The Benin-Sapele-Warri failed road project has caused untold hardship to Nigerians. This is a clear case of illicit financial flows as the people continue to suffer,” he said.
Ugolor observed that despite Nigeria’s robust legal and institutional architecture, such as the EFCC, ICPC, and NFIU, empowered to tackle illicit financial flows, the crime still persists, noting that CSOs and the media should join hands in addressing the menace.
He expressed optimism that CSOs would use the outcomes of the training to hold governments accountable and ensure the tracing of illicit financial flows.
Speaking, the Operations Coordinator for the SecFin Project, Philippe Pacaud, while seeking the collaboration of the CSOs in tackling money laundering, observed that some of the illicit funds from Nigeria and Africa are used to sponsor terrorism and corruption, harping on the need to block the loopholes.
In his remarks, the NFIU Director, Hafsat Abubakar Bakari, represented by Chinedum Odenyi, harped on the importance of CSOs in advocacy, research, public awareness, policy engagement and community mobilisation, noting that their role would become increasingly important as Nigeria prepares for its 2027 evaluation of its anti-money laundering, counter-terrorism financing and counter-proliferation financing framework.
