Posted by By DIPO KEHINDE on
The acting Inspector General of Police, Sir Mike Okiro has stressed the need for a change of focus in police operations, as he called for a stakeholders meeting on terrorism and money laundering.
•Adds new subjects to police syllabus
The acting Inspector General of Police, Sir Mike Okiro has stressed the need for a change of focus in police operations, as he called for a stakeholders meeting on terrorism and money laundering.
While identifying what is needed to sustain the steady progress in the Nigeria Police Force, Okiro promised to vigorously pursue crime prevention option, instead of the erstwhile crime fighting option.
Commenting on the level of compliance of Nigeria with the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on money laundering and the financing of terrorism, Okiro revealed that a strategic memo has been forwarded to the president, analyzing the importance the police attached to the subject and explained the modalities to be adopted.
According to Okiro, the Special Fraud Unit (SFU) on Milverton Street, Ikoyi, Lagos, under the supervision of Force Criminal Investigations Department (FCID) has been re-invigorated and saddled with responsibilities of investigation and control of all forms of financial crimes.
He said: 'In addition to the setting up of the SFU and empowering it and the proposed Anti-Terrorism Police outfit, the Police Staff College, the Police Academy and other police training institutions would be mandated to draw up a comprehensive training syllabus that would focus specifically on the teaching of anti-money laundering studies and terrorism financing."
Okiro's proposals, as contained in a welcome address to members of the Inter-Governmental Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) also indicated that another memo is on its way to the office of the attorney-general of the federation, on the need for a national policy and national strategy on money laundering and terrorism financing.
He noted that the president's aim of making Nigeria's economy one of the best 20 economies of the world by the year 2020, could only be achieved in a terrorism free, money laundering free and crime free domestic environment.
Members of GIABA, who visited Okiro at the Force Headquarters in Abuja, as part of a two-week mutual evaluation and on-site visit to Nigeria are Dr. A. Y. Shehu, director general (GIABA) and leader of the delegation, from Sierra-Leone, Alhaji Kande Bangura, a retired inspector general of police from Sierra-Leone and executive director, National Drugs Control Agency (NDCA), Sierra-Leone, Dr. Kwaku Addeah, director, Legal Bank of Ghana and Giwa Siman Sechap of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).