Controversy has arisen around the list of terror financiers purportedly leaked by the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and reported on Wednesday.
According to reports on Wednesday, the Federal Government had uncovered the identity of 15 entities, including nine individuals and six Bureaus De Changes, (BDCs), allegedly involved in terrorism financing.
It said details of the development were revealed by the NFIU, in an email sent on Tuesday night, titled: “Designation of Individuals and Entities for March 18, 2024”.
It indicated that the document revealed that the Nigeria Sanctions Committee met on March 18, 2024, where specific individuals and entities were recommended for sanction following their involvement in terrorism financing.
“The Honourable Attorney-General of the Federation, with the approval of the President, has thereupon designated the following individuals and entities to be listed on the Nigeria Sanctions List”, the document read in part.
Even though the first story clearly mentioned the Kaduna-based publisher, Tukur Mamu, who is currently being tried by the federal government for allegedly aiding the terrorists who attacked the Abuja-Kaduna train in March 2022, an updated story, which has gone viral on multiple platforms, listed other names and entities.
It also listed six BDCs and firms, including the West and East Africa General Trading Company Ltd., Settings Bureau-De-Change Ltd., G. Side General Enterprises, Desert Exchange Ventures Ltd., Eagle Square General Trading Company Limited and Alfa Exchange BDC.
Apart from Mamu, all the remaining names mentioned are not known, and efforts to unravel their identities did not yield any result.
According to reports, when contacted to give more insight on the development, the NFIU’s Head of Public Affairs, Abubakar Abba Ibrahim, said the organisation did not issue any statement.
Another senior official in the agency, Sani Tukur, said on the media WhatsApp platform of the agency, “There was no statement from our office sir. I have asked around and no one seems to know how they got it. I believe it is being investigated”.
Also contacted to know when the trial of the suspects will commence, a senior official in the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, said they read the story. “We saw nothing to expand on it because it is not new,” the source said.
The source further disclosed that the BDC operators and Tukur Mamu have been in court since their indictment in Dubai and arrest in Egypt, respectively.
