Spaces for Change|S4C paid a courtesy visit to the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ola Olukoyede, at the Commission’s Headquarters in Abuja on July 4, 2024. The Chairman and senior executives of the Commission received the S4C delegation accompanied by members of the Multi-Stakeholder Working Group on Charities (MSWGC).
S4C has been advocating for the effective implementation of international anti-money laundering and countering financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) standards, particularly the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF’s) Recommendation 8 (R8), which focuses on mitigating terrorism financing in the nonprofit sector. S4C’s independent review of national AML/CFT measures coupled with the sustained technical support to relevant agencies has helped to clarify technical gaps, facilitate intersectoral constructive dialogues, and most importantly, prompted the revision of the national terrorism financing risk assessment (TFRA) of non-profit organizations (NPOs) in Nigeria.
Together with GreenAcre Associates, S4C served as technical consultants for the national TFRA of NPOs and collaborated with agencies to disseminate findings to financial and non-financial institutions, and other regulatory bodies. In addition, S4C’s regional outreach conducted in collaboration with the Special Control Unit against Money Laundering, a unit under the EFCC, has reached over 500 NPOs across Nigeria. These efforts were pivotal in Nigeria achieving full compliance with R8, and garnering global recognition in the revised FATF R8 Best Practices Paper released in November 2023. Nigeria is the only African country to secure a Fully Compliant rating on FATF Recommendation 8.
Discussions during the visit explored ways of balancing international terrorism financing standards with the needs of the local context. Emphasis must be placed on building strong and effective regulatory and law enforcement institutions capable of identifying, mitigating and repelling money laundering and terrorism financing risks. Attaining this objective should be the ultimate goal of countries, and not just to secure favorable international ratings. Private and public institutions, including charitable organizations, have a role to play in this regard. That is why the sustained research, bespoke advocacy and technical assistance interventions of organizations like Spaces for Change must be encouraged in order to scale up the good work of institutional strengthening, capacity development and countering terrorism-financing risks in the NPO sector.
The highlight of the visit was the appreciation plaque presented by the Chairman of the Commission to S4C’s Executive Director, Ms. Victoria Ibezim-Ohaeri, for the organization’s consistency in championing sustainable policy reforms in Nigeria’s AML/CFT landscape and the nonprofit sector. S4C’s AML/CFT advocacy is supported by the Fund for Global Human Rights (FGHR), Global Center on Cooperative Security (GCCS), Global NPO Coalition on FATF, Ford Foundation and the Mott Foundation.
