The Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) has commenced moves to establish a new public-private partnership framework for sharing financial intelligence among government institutions and financial sector operators.
The proposed framework, known as the Joint Financial Intelligence Collaboration (JFIC), is designed to enable regulators, banks, insurance companies, fintechs, Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs), technology firms and other stakeholders to work together in detecting emerging financial threats and disrupting illicit financial networks.
The initiative was unveiled during a high-level stakeholder engagement organised by the NFIU with the support of the British High Commission in Nigeria and the Convention for Business Integrity (CBi).
According to the NFIU, the proposed collaboration is expected to strengthen the integrity and resilience of Nigeria’s financial system by creating a trusted platform for more effective exchange of financial intelligence between public and private-sector institutions.
Representing the NFIU Chief Executive Officer, Hajia Hafsat Abubakar Bakari, the Unit’s General Counsel, Felix Obiamalu, said the engagement marked a decisive stage in the development of the initiative.
Mr Obiamalu said the process had moved beyond discussions about the concept to determining how the proposed partnership would be designed, operated and sustained.
“We have moved from dialogue to design, to commitment and implementation,” he said.
He added that the objective was no longer simply to discuss the concept, but to jointly determine what the partnership should look like, how it should operate, the value it should create and how it could be sustained over time.
The development brings major players in Nigeria’s financial ecosystem into the process of designing the framework, with the NFIU saying private-sector participation would help ensure that the initiative reflects operational realities.
Speaking on behalf of the British High Commission, Jehanzeb Khan, Illicit Financial Flows Officer at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), reaffirmed the importance of stronger cooperation between government and the private sector in tackling illicit financial flows.
Managing Director of the Convention for Business Integrity, Olusoji Apampa, said the process was deliberately structured to place the private sector at the centre of decision-making.
According to him, this would help ensure that the emerging framework reflects the realities faced by institutions involved in financial transactions and enjoys broad stakeholder ownership.
Delivering the keynote presentation, Xolisile Khanyile, former Chair of the Egmont Group and former Director of South Africa’s Financial Intelligence Centre, described private-sector participation in the fight against financial crime as a national responsibility.
Ms Khanyile urged Nigeria to adopt a practical and phased approach to implementing the proposed collaboration.
“Trust, shared ownership and collaboration are the foundations of every successful public-private partnership,” she said.
She added that given Nigeria’s importance within the global anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) framework, the initiative was both timely and necessary.
The stakeholder engagement ended with strong support for the proposed framework and a commitment to advancing a partnership capable of improving financial intelligence, strengthening threat detection and enhancing Nigeria’s response to increasingly sophisticated forms of financial activity.
The NFIU said the discussions reflected a growing recognition that no single institution could effectively combat contemporary financial crimes alone.
It said effective action required government institutions and industry players to work together, share relevant insights, identify risks at an early stage and build collective resilience against illicit financial activities.
The Unit said the proposed JFIC would therefore provide a platform for deeper cooperation between public authorities and private-sector institutions in responding to emerging threats within Nigeria’s financial system.
