Senate Passes Bill To Unbundle EFCC

The Senate has passed a bill that separates the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit, NFIU, out of the control of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

The bill when signed into law will establish the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Agency, making it independent of the EFCC.

The bill was passed at Senate plenary on Thursday after it was read for the third time. It was first initiated last Thursday.

A report on the bill was presented at the upper legislative arm on Wednesday by the committee on anti-corruption, after it was referred to them on Tuesday.

The Senate said the bill was fast-tracked to help Nigeria avoid expulsion from the Egmont Group of financial intelligence units.

The group had suspended NFIU over absence of legal framework that guarantees independence of the Nigeria’s unit, warning that if the country “fails to comply with the group’s demands for a legal framework granting autonomy to the NFIU by January 2018, the country will be expelled from the global body”.

The Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units provides the backbone for monitoring international money laundering activities across the world.

The Senate during plenary last week blamed Attorney General and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami, Interior Minister Abdulrahman Danbazzau and EFCC Acting Chair Ibrahim Magu for Nigeria’s suspension.
The Red Chamber also said it was ready to do everything necessary to reverse Nigeria’s suspension.

For the bill to become law, it has to be passed by the House of Representatives, and signed into law by the President or vetoed by the lawmakers.