Precious Nwonu, Enugu
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has rolled out a stronger supervisory framework aimed at deterring the use of Nigerian banks and financial institutions for terrorism financing and other financial abuses.
In an official statement, the apex bank’s Acting Director of the Corporate Communications and Investor Relations Department, Hakama Sidi-Ali, announced that the CBN has made terrorism financing supervision one of its foremost current priorities. This aggressive focus forms part of the bank’s ongoing commitment to thoroughly protect the Nigerian financial system from abuse by illicit actors.
Sidi-Ali explained that this newly reinforced push explicitly covers four broad operational areas: how financial institutions manage terrorism financing risk, how they monitor transactions for signs of terrorism financing, how they execute targeted financial sanctions, and how they report suspicious transactions linked to terrorism. Rather than sitting back and waiting for problems to surface on their own, the apex bank plans to implement a strict, risk-based approach, ensuring that banks and institutions seen as more exposed to these risks will attract closer supervisory attention.
“This supervisory focus also supports Nigeria’s ongoing domestic and international cooperation on counter-terrorism financing, counter-proliferation financing, financial integrity, and the protection of the financial system. Further supervisory engagement will be undertaken as appropriate,” Sidi-Ali stated.
According to her, the bank will continue to apply a risk-based supervisory approach, utilizing both on-site and off-site engagements.
This strategy is designed to enforce highly effective Anti-Money Laundering, Combating the Financing of Terrorism, and Countering Proliferation Financing (AML/CFT/CPF) controls across the financial sector, in strict alignment with existing legal and regulatory obligations. She added that further supervisory engagement will be undertaken as appropriate, indicating that additional enforcement steps could follow depending on what the CBN’s checks turn up.
In tandem with these regulations and in line with the provisions of the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act (TPPA), 2022, the Nigeria Sanctions Committee (NSC) recently designated six individuals and three entities as terrorist financiers, subsequently adding them to the official Nigeria Sanctions List.