The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Abdulrasheed Bawa, has reaffirmed the commission’s preparedness to withdraw the registration of any NGO operating in the region deemed to have ties to any terrorist group in light of the ongoing terrorist actions in the North-East.
On Thursday, April 27, Bawa gave a speech at the start of a one-day course on reporting on economic and financial crime that the commission had organized for local journalists in Maiduguri.
Speaking through the Maiduguri Zonal Commander of the Commission, Oshodi Johnson, the EFCC helmsman said, “Section 56 of the Terrorism Act also empowers the Special Control Unit Against Money Laundering, which is now domiciled in the EFCC, to refuse or revoke the registration of any NGO linked to terrorist groups.”
He did not say if the commission has made any such revocation but cited the case of Aisha Wakil, alias Mama Boko Haram, who was investigated by the commission and prosecuted and convicted for using her NGO for fraudulent purposes.
“This should not be allowed to continue,” he warned, stating, “The ordeal of this region in the hands of terrorists should not be exploited for pecuniary gains.”
Bawa charged journalists in the region to investigate whether NGOs in the region comply with the Terrorism Act in their operations.
“Where you have incontrovertible evidence of non-compliance or outright criminality, it is your moral duty to expose such,” he said.
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