According to Interpol, which is the International Police Organization, so much money is being lost illegitimately every minute from Nigeria alone; it’s an indication that Money Laundering has gone beyond Nigeria not only in Africa.
This was disclosed by Garba Umar, vice president of Interpol Africa during the four-day training program organized for Nigerian Police officers and other agencies at the Academy of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Abuja.
Umar expressed that money laundering has assumed a huge dimension hence the existence of such appendages as Silver Notices. These are special notices meant to combat against such offenses globally by Interpol itself.
He also stated there is no man’s land in crime anymore but there are always criminals who can change residence anytime and enjoy fruits of their deeds while innocent Nigerians bear the brunt of it.
This training event which focused on “Improving Skills and Cooperation to Fight Financial Crimes” ought to be able to equip law enforcement agencies with necessary skills for better handling financial crimes.
He stated that we must all join together to combat economic and financial crimes during his speech. According to him, corruption is a hard problem to combat as it exists in each country. He praised the EFCC for their success stories and funds seized, and expressed optimism over their focus on preventing such crimes.
The Japanese Ambassador at the event, Kazuyoshi Matsunaga described the workshop as an important partnership between Japan and Nigeria in the fight against financial crimes.
He stressed the need for global collaboration in tackling transnational crimes. Various law enforcement agencies such as Nigerian police, EFCC, NFIU, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Interpol, helped organize this workshop.
