Police, NFIU Deepen Alliance Against Money Laundering Ahead Of 2027 Global Assessment
Princess-Ekwi Ajide
Financial intelligence is emerging as one of Nigeria’s strongest weapons against organised crime, with security agencies shifting focus from arresting criminals to tracing and dismantling the financial networks that sustain terrorism, banditry, crude oil theft and other illicit activities.
The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) have renewed their partnership to strengthen the country’s fight against money laundering, terrorism financing and organised crime ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 Financial Action Task Force (FATF) mutual evaluation.
The renewed collaboration was announced on Tuesday during a strategic meeting between the leadership of both agencies at the Force Headquarters in Abuja.
Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, described financial intelligence as a critical tool in modern policing, noting that criminals now move illicit funds across borders within seconds, making intelligence-led investigations more essential than ever.
He said targeting the proceeds of crime would significantly weaken criminal enterprises involved in terrorism, banditry, crude oil theft and other organised offences.
To reinforce the Force’s financial crime investigations, the IGP disclosed that the Police had established a Proceeds of Crime Section headed by a Deputy Commissioner of Police with expertise in financial crime.
Disu also called for deeper collaboration with the NFIU through intelligence sharing, joint training and enhanced capacity building for officers handling money laundering and terrorism financing investigations.
Earlier, Director and Chief Executive Officer of the NFIU, Hafsat Abubakar-Bakari, commended the Nigeria Police Force for its contribution to Nigeria’s removal from the FATF Grey List in 2025.
She praised officers of the Police Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Unit for implementing reforms that helped the country meet international anti-money laundering standards.
Abubakar-Bakari explained that the 2027 FATF mutual evaluation would assess not only the country’s legal framework but also the effectiveness of institutions in utilising financial intelligence, recovering criminal assets, prosecuting offenders and collaborating across agencies.
She urged police commands nationwide to strengthen expertise in anti-money laundering investigations, improve asset tracing, enhance data collection and adopt risk-based investigative approaches.
According to her, criminals often leave financial footprints long before physical evidence emerges, making financial intelligence indispensable in exposing criminal networks and those who finance them.
She reaffirmed the NFIU’s commitment to supporting the Police through intelligence sharing, operational support, strategic analysis, capacity building and collaboration with more than 180 Financial Intelligence Units worldwide under the Egmont Group.
In his response, IGP Disu thanked the NFIU for recognising the sacrifices of police officers, particularly those who have lost their lives in the line of duty, describing the gesture as a morale booster for the Force.
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