FG places high profile Nigerians under security watch for terrorism financing
The Federal Government has said that it is currently profiling a large number of high profile Nigerians who have been alleged to have reasonable links to terrorism financing.
This follows the arrest of an undisclosed number of suspects
recently after the convictions of some Nigerians on terrorism financing in the
United Arab Emirates (UAE).
This disclosure was made by the Attorney General of the
Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, during a chat with the
press at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Friday.
What the Attorney General of the Federation is saying
The Minister said that the convictions of Nigerians in the
UAE has given rise to wider and far-reaching investigations in Nigeria.
Malami in his statement said, “As you will actually know,
sometimes back, there were certain convictions of Nigerians allegedly involved
in terrorism financing in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
That gave rise to a wider and far-reaching investigation in
Nigeria and I’m happy to report that arising from the wider coverage
investigation that has been conducted in Nigeria, a number of people, both
institutional and otherwise, were found to be culpable, I mean reasonable
grounds for suspicion of terrorism financing have been established, or perhaps
has been proven to be in existence in respect of the transactions of certain
high-profile individuals and businessmen across the country.
I’m happy to report that investigation has been ongoing for
long and it has reached an advanced stage. Arriving from the investigation,
there exists, certainly, reasonable grounds for suspicion that a lot of
Nigerians, high-profile, institutional and otherwise, are involved in terrorism
financing and they are being profiled for prosecution.
In essence, it is indeed true that the government is
prosecuting and it’s indeed initiating processes of prosecuting those
high-profile individuals that are found to be financing terrorism. It is indeed
true.
However, Malami did not give the number of such suspects as
he maintained that investigation was still ongoing until a conclusion is
arrived at.
“As to the number, the investigation is ongoing and it has
to be conclusive before one can arrive at a certain number, but one thing I can
tell you is it is a large number and they are being profiled for prosecution.
It is indeed a large number and I’m not in a position to
give you the precise number as at now because the profiling and investigation
are ongoing.”
Malami warned that government will not hesitate to invoke
the full wrath of the law on anyone found culpable in sponsoring terrorism in
the country as nobody found culpable in terrorism financing will be spared.
What you should know
It can be recalled that in March 2021, the Association of
Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) confirmed the arrest of some of
its members by security operatives over the investigation of some of their
transactions which border on money laundering, terrorism financing and Know
Your Customer status.
ABCON in its statement said that it considers these as
serious allegations especially given the security challenges facing the
country. It appealed to the authorities to expedite action to ensure that
innocent people who have been caught up in this investigation can be released
and so that they can return to their anxious families and resume their lives.
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