THE ROLE OF NIGERIAN FINANCIAL INTELLIGENCE UNIT (NFIU) IN CURBING MONEY LAUNDERING AND TERRORISM FINANCING 2005-2021

Abstract

The activities of terrorist groups in the West African sub-region is becoming increasingly complicated and sophisticated. In Nigeria, for example, several militant groups in the Niger Delta, secessionist agitation groups in the southeast, and Boko Haram in the north-eastern part of the country have caused massive and wanton destruction of lives and property, including the destruction of crude oil installations, over the years. Furthermore, considerable research indicates that al-Qaeda has a presence in Mali and Mauritania, and that Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) has networks in Mali and Senegal, while Hezbollah has a large fundraising network in West Africa. Financing terrorist operations is becoming easier due to the increasing prevalence of criminality—monumental corruption, oil theft, increased arms trafficking, people trafficking, frauds, cybercrime, drug trafficking, and many other types of crime. The study applies descriptive analysis of data. Data were collected from primary and secondary sources through unstructured interviews, books, journal and the internet. The research findings revealed that the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and other agencies have not adequately implemented cybersecurity to disrupt terrorism financing due to an inadequate legal framework. Also, the NFIU and other agencies are faced with inability to control the activities of other intelligence agencies involved in intelligence acquisition and this often results in unhealthy inter-agency competition and rivalry. This weak synergy culminates in negative consequences which are ultimately counterproductive on national security objectives. Despite these shortcomings, there are prospects for improving cybersecurity as a strategy to disrupt terrorism financing in Training of NFIU personnel on the operations and use of GIABA framework for Anti-Terrorism Financing and Money Laundering and cyber security. On the whole, the study provides insight on the overall issue of cybersecurity as a strategy to disrupt emerging trends in terrorism financing and provided implementation plan for effective cybersecurity application to disrupt terrorism financing.