The Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) has begun plans to establish a Joint Financial Intelligence Collaboration framework to strengthen the sharing of financial intelligence between public and private sector institutions.
The proposed framework is expected to deepen cooperation among regulators, banks, insurance companies, fintech firms, Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs), technology companies and other stakeholders in detecting emerging financial threats and disrupting illicit financial networks.
The NFIU disclosed this in a statement on Thursday following a high-level stakeholder engagement organised by the unit with the support of the British High Commission in Nigeria and the Convention for Business Integrity.
The initiative is designed to create a trusted platform where public and private institutions can collaborate more effectively to identify emerging threats, disrupt illicit financial activities and strengthen the integrity of Nigeria’s financial system.
According to the NFIU, the framework will also enhance the country’s ability to respond to increasingly sophisticated forms of financial crime.
Representing the Chief Executive Officer of the NFIU, Hafsat Abubakar Bakari, the unit’s General Counsel, Felix Obiamalu, said the stakeholder engagement marked a transition from discussions about the initiative to the design and implementation phase.
“We have moved from dialogue to design, to commitment and implementation,” Obiamalu said.
He said stakeholders would jointly determine how the proposed partnership would operate, the value it would deliver and how it could be sustained over the long term.
“The objective is no longer simply to discuss the concept. It is to jointly determine what this partnership should look like, how it should operate, what value it should create and how it can be sustained over time,” he added.
Private Sector to Play Key Role
Speaking on behalf of the British High Commission, the Illicit Financial Flows Officer at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Jehanzeb Khan, reaffirmed the importance of stronger collaboration between government and private sector institutions in tackling illicit financial flows.
The Managing Director of the Convention for Business Integrity, Olusoji Apampa, said the process had deliberately placed the private sector at the centre of decision-making.
According to him, the approach would ensure that the proposed framework reflects operational realities and secures broad ownership among stakeholders.
Delivering the keynote presentation, former Chair of the Egmont Group and former Director of South Africa’s Financial Intelligence Centre, Xolisile Khanyile, urged Nigeria to adopt a practical and phased approach to implementing the proposed collaboration framework.
The proposed Joint Financial Intelligence Collaboration is expected to provide a structured and trusted mechanism for sharing relevant intelligence, enabling stakeholders to respond more quickly to financial threats and strengthen efforts to combat illicit financial activities in Nigeria.
