NFIU partners private sector to develop framework for strengthening financial intelligence sharing

The Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) has mobilised key private-sector stakeholders to help develop a new framework for strengthening financial intelligence sharing and combating illicit financial activities in Nigeria.

The initiative, known as the Joint Financial Intelligence Collaboration (JFIC), was unveiled during a high-level stakeholder engagement organised with the support of the British High Commission in Nigeria and the Convention for Business Integrity (CBi).

The engagement brought together representatives of regulatory agencies, banks, insurance companies, fintech firms, Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs), technology companies and other critical stakeholders in Nigeria’s financial ecosystem.

The proposed JFIC is designed to provide a trusted platform for public- and private-sector institutions to collaborate more effectively in identifying emerging financial threats, disrupting illicit financial networks and strengthening the integrity and resilience of the country’s financial system.

Chief Executive Officer of the NFIU, Hajia Hafsat Abubakar Bakari, described the engagement as a major milestone in the development of the initiative.

Bakari, who was represented by the NFIU General Counsel, Mr. Felix Obiamalu, said the process had moved beyond discussions to practical steps towards designing and implementing the partnership, adding: “We have moved from dialogue to design, to commitment and implementation.”

She furtehr stated that the objective was no longer merely to discuss the concept, but to jointly determine how the partnership would operate, the value it would create and how it could be sustained over time.

Also speaking, the British High Commission represented by the Illicit Financial Flows Officer at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), Mr. Jehanzeb Khan, reaffirmed the importance of stronger collaboration between government and the private sector in tackling illicit financial flows.

The Managing Director of the Convention for Business Integrity, Mr. Olusoji Apampa, said the engagement was deliberately structured to place the private sector at the centre of the decision-making process.

According to managing director, this would ensure that the emerging framework reflects operational realities while securing broad stakeholder ownership.

Delivering the keynote address, former Chair of the Egmont Group and former Director of South Africa’s Financial Intelligence Centre, Ms. Xolisile Khanyile, described private-sector participation in the fight against financial crimes as a national responsibility.

She urged Nigeria to adopt a practical and phased approach to implementing the proposed partnership.

“Trust, shared ownership and collaboration are the foundations of every successful public-private partnership,” Khanyile said.

She added that, given Nigeria’s strategic importance within the global Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) framework, the initiative was both timely and necessary.

The engagement ended with strong stakeholder support for the proposed JFIC framework and a shared commitment to advancing a partnership capable of improving financial intelligence, strengthening early threat detection and enhancing Nigeria’s response to increasingly sophisticated forms of financial crime.

Participants agreed that no single institution can effectively combat modern financial crimes in isolation, stressing the need for government and industry to work together, share intelligence, identify risks early and build collective resilience against illicit financial activities.