The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) have started a three-day stocktake to evaluate Nigeria's readiness for the Financial Action Task Force's (FATF) mutual evaluation exercise in 2027. The exercise, which began on September 29, 2026, at the EFCC's headquarters in Abuja, aims to review progress, identify gaps, and strengthen inter-agency cooperation. This initiative demonstrates Nigeria's commitment to meeting international standards on anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing.
The stocktake is a crucial step towards the mutual evaluation exercise, as it brings together officials from both agencies and relevant stakeholders to assess Nigeria's preparedness. EFCC's Executive Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, emphasized the importance of this exercise, stating that it is a demonstration of Nigeria's shared commitment to achieving full compliance with FATF's anti-money laundering thresholds. He called for all hands to be on deck to avoid Nigeria's return to the FATF Grey List, which was provisionally removed on October 24, 2025.
Nigeria was classified as a country requiring enhanced monitoring by FATF in 2022 and was placed on the Grey List. However, with improved compliance with AML/CFT/CPFF frameworks, Nigeria was removed from the list. Olukoyede stressed that the country must sustain its anti-money laundering efforts to avoid returning to the Grey List. He highlighted key areas for consideration, including the use of financial intelligence, asset tracing, recovery and management, money laundering, investigation, and prosecution.
The Chief Executive Officer of the NFIU, Hafsat Abubakar Bakari, emphasized the importance of the stocktake exercise, citing the longstanding relationship between the EFCC and NFIU. She stated that the exercise is not about addressing a crisis but about identifying areas for improvement ahead of the mutual evaluation. Bakari stressed that the evaluation would examine not only Nigeria's laws and institutional structures but also the effectiveness of their implementation.
Bakari highlighted that international assessors would look for evidence of effective investigation, successful prosecutions, asset recovery, inter-agency collaboration, and intelligence use to distort criminal activities. She noted that the EFCC has played a central role in shaping Nigeria's progress in the last year. The NFIU's Chief of Staff, Mohammed Shahid Ahmed, outlined key areas Nigeria must address ahead of the 2027 FATF mutual evaluation, including financial investigations, identification and recovery of proceeds of crime, and international cooperation.
Ahmed recalled that Nigeria's 2019 mutual evaluation identified deficiencies that led to the country's placement on the FATF Grey List. He noted that Nigeria has since implemented measures to address these deficiencies, leading to its removal from the Grey List. However, with the next mutual evaluation commencing barely a year after Nigeria's removal, Ahmed emphasized that the country has little time to consolidate on the gains.
The assessment will focus not only on technical compliance with FATF standards but also on effectiveness, including whether agencies are using financial intelligence, prioritizing investigations based on identified risks, and demonstrating that their enforcement efforts are producing decisive results. The EFCC and NFIU are committed to strengthening Nigeria's financial system and sustaining its anti-money laundering efforts.
Key points
- EFCC and NFIU commence a 3-day stocktake to assess Nigeria's preparedness for the 2027 FATF mutual evaluation.
- Nigeria was provisionally removed from the FATF Grey List on October 24, 2025, after improving compliance with AML/CFT/CPFF frameworks.
- The 2027 FATF mutual evaluation will examine Nigeria's laws, institutional structures, and effectiveness in implementing anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing measures.
