Reps pass bill seeking to make NFIU autonomous

The house of representatives has passed the bill seeking to establish the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) as an autonomous body.

The lawmakers adopted the harmonised report of the conference committee from both chambers of the national assembly on Tuesday.

Kayode Oladele, chairman of the house committee on financial and economic crimes, had presented the report to the house during plenary.

The bill seeks to establish the NFIU as the central body responsible for receiving, requesting and analysing financial intelligence report.

The senate had passed the bill in July, but it was put on hold at the house of representatives.

On Sunday, Senate President Bukola Saraki hinted that the house of representatives would pass the bill this week.

Last year, TheCable reported the suspension of Nigeria by Egmont Group because of the “interference” of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in the workings of the unit.

Ahead of its meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina, between March 11 and March 16, Nigeria is expected to make NFIU independent in order to avoid expulsion.

In the event of an expulsion, Nigeria would no longer benefit from financial intelligence shared by the 153 member countries, while the country’s ability to recover stolen funds abroad will be hampered.

Nigeria will also be blacklisted in international finance and this could affect the use of credit and debit cards by Nigerians abroad.