NFIU Mobilises Private Sector for New National Financial Intelligence Partnership
Nigeria has taken a significant step towards enhancing the integrity and resilience of its financial system, as the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) brought together leading stakeholders to help shape a new framework for financial intelligence sharing.
The high-level engagement, organised with the support of the British High Commission, Nigeria, and the Convention for Business Integrity (CBi), brought together regulators, banks, insurance companies, fintechs, Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs), technology firms and other stakeholders to co-design the proposed Joint Financial Intelligence Collaboration (JFIC).
The initiative seeks to create a trusted platform through which public and private-sector institutions can work together more effectively to identify emerging threats, disrupt illicit financial networks and strengthen the integrity of Nigeria’s financial system.
Representing the Chief Executive Officer of the NFIU, Hajia Hafsat Abubakar Bakari, the Unit’s General Counsel, Mr. Felix Obiamalu, said the engagement marked a decisive shift in the development of the initiative. “We have moved from dialogue to design, to commitment and implementation,” he said.
Mr. Obiamalu also stated that, “The objective is no longer simply to discuss the concept. It is to jointly determine what this partnership should look like, how it should operate, what value it should create and how it can be sustained over time.”
Speaking on behalf of the British High Commission, Mr. Jehanzeb Khan, Illicit Financial Flows Officer at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), reaffirmed the importance of stronger public-private collaboration in tackling illicit financial flows.
In his remarks, Managing Director of the Convention for Business Integrity, Mr. Olusoji Apampa, said the process was deliberately designed to place the private sector at the centre of decision-making, ensuring that the emerging framework reflects operational realities and enjoys broad stakeholder ownership.
Delivering the keynote presentation, former Chair of the Egmont Group and former Director of South Africa’s Financial Intelligence Centre, Ms Xolisile Khanyile, described private-sector participation as a national responsibility and urged Nigeria to adopt a practical, phased approach to implementation. “Trust, shared ownership and collaboration are the foundations of every successful public-private partnership,” she said. Adding that “Given Nigeria’s importance within the global AML/CFT framework, this initiative is both timely and necessary.”
The engagement concluded with strong stakeholder support for the proposed framework and a shared commitment to advancing a partnership capable of strengthening financial intelligence, improving threat detection and enhancing Nigeria’s response to increasingly sophisticated forms of financial activity.
For many participants, the message was clear: no single institution can combat today’s financial crimes alone. Effective action requires government and industry working together, sharing insights, identifying risks early and building collective resilience against illicit financial activity.
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