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Priscilla Christopher-Akpanettot
The Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ) has called on Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and the media to intensify efforts to expose and tackle illicit financial flows (IFFs) from Nigeria and Africa, describing the menace as a major threat to economic development and public welfare.
The call was made during the course of a two-day capacity-building workshop for CSOs and journalists held in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, from September 10 to 11, 2026, with the theme, “Strengthening CSOs and Media Capacity to Contribute to the Fight Against Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) in Nigeria.”
Speaking at the workshop, ANEEJ Executive Director, David Ugolor, said illicit financial flows had deprived Nigeria of resources that could have been channelled into infrastructure, healthcare, education, job creation and other critical public services.
He said the consequences were ultimately borne by ordinary citizens, who are left to contend with poor public services and inadequate infrastructure.
Ugolor cited the Benin-Sapele-Warri road project as an example of how financial irregularities could translate into hardship for citizens, stating that about N140 billion was carted away from the project while the people continued to suffer the consequences of its failure.
He noted that although Nigeria had established legal and institutional mechanisms, including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), to combat financial crimes, the persistence of IFFs required stronger citizen participation and public scrutiny.
He therefore urged CSOs and the media to work collaboratively in investigating suspicious financial transactions, tracing stolen assets and holding public institutions accountable.
In his remarks, the Operations Coordinator of the SecFin Project, Philippe Pacaud, similarly called for stronger collaboration with CSOs, noting that illicit funds from Nigeria and other African countries are often diverted into funding of corruption and terrorism activities.
In his remarks, the NFIU Chief Executive Officer, Abubakar Bakari, stressed the importance of CSOs in advocacy, research, public awareness, policy engagement and community mobilisation in the fight against financial crimes. He said the role of civil society would become increasingly important as Nigeria prepares for its 2027 evaluation of its anti-money laundering, counter-terrorism financing and counter-proliferation financing framework. The workshop, organised under ANEEJ’s project on strengthening CSOs and media capacity to fight IFFs, was implemented with the support of the European Union through the SecFin Africa Project.
The workshop featured presentations and interactive sessions on understanding illicit financial flows and financial crimes in Nigeria, assessment of the country’s legal and institutional framework for addressing IFFs, investigative journalism, media ethics, legal risks, protection of sources and digital security among others.
Participants also undertook practical sessions in which they developed investigative story ideas and reporting plans around illicit financial flows.
Resource persons included Pacaud; Professor Abdullahi Shehu of SecFin Africa; Taiwo Adebayo of the Institute for Security Studies; Aisha Bantam of the NFIU; Adedayo Kayode, Managing Consultant, Aideasbanc Consulting Limited; and Muskiliu Mojeed of Premium Times.
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