The Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Mr. Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), who disclosed this yesterday in an interview on the sidelines of the 27th Inter-Governmental Action Group Against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) Ministerial Committee Meeting in Abuja, had earlier stated that the Federal Government has identified terrorism financiers in the country.
This was even as the government has flagged off the release of 4,068 prisoners in various correctional centres across the country. Fagbemi said the government would not go into name and shame because it may jeopardise further investigation or apprehension of other people involved.
Earlier in his speech, Fagbemi, while commending the good work GIABA is doing in the effort to combat money laundering and terrorist financing in West Africa, noted that it is incumbent on member states to provide all the support that is necessary for the group to conduct its work in a more effective and efficient manner.
“As a capable and technically confident organisation, GIABA can and should put before the rest of the global Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorism financing (AML/CFT) network, the aspirations and peculiarities of our region.
“I also believe we need to take some time for introspection and an assessment of where we have fallen short. In particular, looking at the effectiveness of our AML/CFT/CPF frameworks, it is clear that across the region there is significant room for improvement,” Fagbemi said.