By Hamilton Nwosa
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria’s apex bank has taken a strategic move to boost terrorism financing supervision to a pre-eminence level. The move is as part of its ongoing current commitment and resolve to safeguard Nigeria’s financial system from abuse by illicit actors.
Sidi-Ali Hakama, acting director, corporate communications and investor relations department, who made this known in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja, Nigeria maintained that the CBN’s supervisory priority covers terrorism financing, risk management, transaction monitoring, implementation of targeted financial sanctions and suspicious transaction reporting connected to terrorism financing.
The Statement declared: “The Bank will continue to apply a risk-based supervisory approach, including on-site and off-site engagement, to support effective AML/CFT/CPF controls across the financial sector in line with existing legal and regulatory obligations.”
According to the apex bank, the supervisory focus also supports Nigeria’s domestic and International cooperation within the larger international ecosystem on counter-terrorism financing, counter-proliferation financing, financial integrity, and the protection of the financial system.
The statement added that “ further supervisory engagement will be undertaken as appropriate.”
Recall that the CBN in the exercise of its mandate had on June 25, directed banks and other financial institutions to freeze accounts of customers accused of terrorism financing.
It would be recalled that the mandate of the CBN is drawn from the 1958 Act of Parliament, as amended in 1991, 1993, 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2007 respectively. Indeed, the apex bank Act of 2007 empowers the Bank “with the overall control and administration of the monetary and financial sector policies of the Federal Government.” According to its mandate, the CBN is empowered by Law to ensure monetary and price stability, issue legal tender currency in the country, maintain external reserves to protect the international value of Nigeria legal tender currency, promote sound financial system in the country, and serve as Banker as well as provide economic and financial advice to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
In this regard, the apex Bank is tasked with “administering the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA), 2020, with the sole aim of ensuring high standards of banking practice and financial stability through its surveillance activities, as well as the promotion of an efficient payments system.”
Furthermore, the CBN says it “has over the years performed some major developmental functions, focused on all the key sectors of the Nigerian economy (financial, agricultural and industrial sectors).”
