By Okon Okon
Foreign experts have commended Nigeria’s progress in combating terrorism financing, describing the country’s approach as a model for other African countries to emulate.
The experts spoke on the sidelines of the 3rd Africa High-Level Civil Society Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing (AML/CFT) Conference in Abuja on Friday.
The conference was organised by Spaces for Change (S4C) West Africa and Civic Advisory Hub in collaboration with the Special Control Unit Against Money Laundering (SCUML) of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The three-day conference has “Implementing FATF Recommendation 8 Correctly: Practices, Lessons Learned and Opportunities for Reform” as its theme.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the conference brought together governments, regulators, financial institutions, civil society organisations, researchers, regional bodies and development partners to exchange knowledge on anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing measures.
It also focused on sharing experiences, identifying practical solutions to financial crimes and promoting collaboration to ensure effective implementation of AML/CFT standards across Africa.
Mr Yona Wonjala of the Uganda Civic Advisory Hub, said Nigeria was chosen to host the conference because of its compliance with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendation 8 on regulating non-profit organisations.
Wonjala said Nigeria’s transition from non-compliance to compliance offered valuable lessons for other African countries.
According to him, Nigeria initially misapplied the recommendation by classifying Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) as reporting entities, contrary to FATF standards.
He said the country later adopted a risk-based approach and removed NGOs from the list of accountable persons, leading to its compliance with the recommendation.
He added that “Nigeria’s experience provides an opportunity for civil society organisations, regulators and law enforcement agencies across Africa to learn how to protect the non-profit sector from terrorism financing risks without undermining legitimate activities.”
Mrs Bernadette Nzono, Senior Assistant Director, Research, Public Benefit Organisations Regulatory Authority (PBORA), Kenya, said the Federal Government’s approach to tackling terrorism financing was worthy of emulation.
She said the country’s collaborative framework and central oversight of the non-profit sector by SCUML represented international best practice.
She added that “Nigeria faces unique challenges because of its large population and the presence of domestic terrorist groups, making strong collaboration and information sharing essential.
“We will continue to look up to Nigeria as a big brother in the fight against terrorism financing involving non-profit organisations.”
Nzono, therefore, urged Nigerian civil society organisations to work closely with government by understanding national security concerns while promoting civic freedom.
Prof. Ben Saul, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights while countering terrorism, also commended Nigeria’s efforts and expressed readiness to engage with authorities on balancing counter-terrorism measures with human rights.
Saul described the conference as a timely opportunity to discuss effective implementation of FATF standards without imposing unnecessary restrictions on legitimate non-profit organisations.
He said the 2023 revision of FATF Recommendation 8,clarified that only organisations falling within FATF’s definition of non-profit organisations should be subject to targeted measures.
He added that the recommendation also emphasised a risk-based and proportionate regulatory approach, rather than blanket regulation of the entire non-profit sector.
According to him, countries should protect non-profit organisations from terrorism financing risks while ensuring that legitimate humanitarian and civic activities are not disrupted.
Also, Mrs Victoria Ibezim-Ohaeri, the Executive Director of Spaces for Change, said the conference examined how countries’ anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing measures affected civic freedoms.
She said discussions centred on ensuring that governments effectively tackled financial crimes without unnecessarily restricting the operations of legitimate non-profit organisations.
According to her, although Nigeria still faces challenges, many participating countries consider its regulatory framework fairer than those of several other African nations.
She added that the conference provided platform for peer learning, enabling countries to exchange experiences and adopt best practices in implementing FATF Recommendation 8. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Hadiza Mohammed-Aliyu