The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has urged Non-profit Organisations (NPOs) in the Northeast to work with the commission to tackle terrorism financing and money laundering in the region.
The NPOs have been engaged in various humanitarian causes following the devastation caused by years of insurgency and terrorism in the region.
EFCC Spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, in a statement on Thursday in Abuja, said the appeal was made in Maiduguri at a workshop for the NPOs with the theme: “Collaborating to Fight Financing Terrorism.”
Uwujaren said Mr Daniel Isei, Director, Special Control Unit against Money Laundering (SCUML), made the appeal while speaking on the report “Risk Assessment of the Non-Profit Organisations Sector in Nigeria”.
He said the document was the outcome of engagements with relevant stakeholders and provides a roadmap on how NPOs can insulate themselves from the vulnerabilities in the sector.
“We are aware that some NPOs are at a higher risk than others because each and every NPO’s area of operation is not the same.
“Therefore, the report is for us to take in, digest, and see how the findings affect each and every one of us,” Isei said.
Emphasizing the critical role of NPOs in the fight against terrorist financing, Isei charged them to avoid being used as conduits for terrorism financing.
Isei also urged the participants not to consider visits by SCUML as suggestive of discovery of any wrongdoing, adding that the agency has a statutory mandate to monitor the organisations.
“The visit is to check your processes to ensure that actions and mechanisms are put in place, and to prevent the possibilities for NPOs to be misused for terrorist financing,” he said.
The director warned that errant NPOs would face requisite sanctions.
The Maiduguri Zonal Commander of the EFCC, Oshodi Johnson, also said that NPOs were critical in curbing the menace of terrorism financing.
He urged the organisations to be committed to their humanitarian work and resist any temptation to be involved in unlawful activities.
On his part, the Executive Secretary, Agency for Coordination of Sustainable Development and Humanitarian Response in Borno, Alhaji Bunu Monguno, expressed confidence that the risk assessment report would help NPOs to deliver on their mandate.
