Interpol Vice President for Africa, Garba Umar, revealed that hundreds of thousands of dollars are being laundered out of Nigeria every hour. This disclosure was made during the opening of a four-day training workshop for Nigerian law enforcement agencies at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Academy in Abuja.
“Evidence has shown that every hour, hundreds of thousands of dollars are flowing out of Nigeria to the region and across the world, laundered before it reaches the pockets of criminals to enjoy the profits of their crimes, while the hardworking and honest Nigerians pay the price of crime,” said Umar.
The training workshop, themed “Strengthening Capacity and Coordination against Financial Crimes,” aims to address the escalating problem of money laundering, which has reached a “monstrous dimension.” Umar stressed the importance of Interpol’s Silver Notices in making illicit funds more difficult to launder globally.
“In essence, this workshop will allow us to re-examine the challenges of fighting transnational crimes in the country, reassess our strategies, and reaffirm our determination and unity as a country to provide security to our citizens and by extension the global community,” Umar added.
The Executive Chairman of the EFCC, Ola Olukoyede, emphasized the need for enhanced collaboration in tackling financial crimes, noting the complexity of corruption worldwide. “The daunting nature of the fight against corruption in Nigeria and the world at large deserves serious collaboration among organizations saddled with the responsibility of fighting corruption,” Olukoyede said.
Japanese Ambassador to Nigeria, Kazuyoshi Matsunaga, highlighted the importance of international cooperation in combating financial crimes. “I am delighted that Interpol and the Japanese National Police Agency are an integral part of this project, contributing their expertise,” Matsunaga noted.
The workshop, organized by Interpol and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), includes participants from the Police, EFCC, NFIU, Nigeria Immigration Service, and Nigeria Customs Service, aiming to enhance law enforcement’s capacity to combat financial crime and improve national cross-agency collaboration.
