The Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), says contrary to media reports, the Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Chief Justices of the Federation (CJN), or any member of the National Assembly, or the judiciary is under investigation.
In a statement with reference: NFIU/EXT/PUB/PRESS/DCEO/16SEP-2019/VOL.1/004, dated September 16, 2019, signed by Ahmed Dikko, its chief media analyst, the NFIU said the officer who initiated the request for information on certain categories of public officers “was obviously unacquainted with the fact that the NFIU already had access to such information through its database.”
The update, which does not translate to investigating the public officers, the statement continued, is in line with its task of maintaining and regularly updating the list of Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs), including politicians and political appointees in all organs of government, the aftermath of the May 2019 inauguration of a new administration.
“The update exercise which is a regular practice in order to protect public funds and other assets is also in accordance with global best practice.”
It decried the situation where the routine exercise has become unduly politicized, with public servants are creating the wrong impression that opposition elements are using the agency, while the opposition seems to be speaking through some Non-Government Organisations to insinuate that the government is using the NFIU to its political advantage.
Both positions, the NFIU continued, “are not only untrue but patently unimaginable.”
Continuing, the statement reminded all that there was no need to make political capital out of the action, given that Nigeria is a co-signatory with other 164 members of the FIU processes.
The NFIU said it has commenced an investigation to unravel the persons and the factors that led to the inadvertent circumvention of its internal process with a view to applying appropriate sanctions as deterrence.