IGP Orders Police to Submit Terrorism, Banditry Financing Cases to Special Units

• Inspector-General of Police Tunji Disu has directed officers nationwide to refer terrorism financing, banditry, crude oil theft, and other financial crime cases to specialized police units as part of efforts to strengthen intelligence-led policing.

The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Tunji Disu, has directed police officers across Nigeria to refer cases involving terrorism financing, banditry, crude oil theft, and other financial crimes to specialized investigative units.

The directive, announced on Tuesday at the Force Headquarters in Abuja during a meeting with the leadership of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), is aimed at strengthening intelligence-led policing and improving the fight against organized crime.

According to the IGP, criminals are increasingly relying on sophisticated financial transactions that cut across borders, making financial intelligence a critical tool in tackling insecurity.

“The dynamics of crime is changing daily everywhere in the world, and within seconds monies are moving over the continent. Monies that have to be laundered, monies that a lot of people want to clean by different deceits. Financial intelligence is a necessity,” Disu said.

He stressed that closer collaboration between the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) and the NFIU would significantly improve efforts to combat terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, crude oil theft, and other forms of organized crime.

“We need to collaborate more and share intelligence because of the security situation we have in the country today—terrorism, banditry, and even in cases of theft of crude. Following their proceeds will assist to bring down the crime by nothing less than 50 per cent,” he stated.

Disu explained that tracking the financial proceeds of criminal activities would help law enforcement agencies identify and dismantle criminal networks more effectively.

Police Establish New Financial Crime Unit

The IGP also announced the creation of a Proceeds of Crime Section, a specialized unit within the Nigeria Police Force dedicated to investigating financial crimes and terrorism financing.

He said the unit is headed by a Deputy Commissioner of Police with extensive experience in financial crime investigations.

“We have directed all our officers to refer cases involving terrorism, banditry, and suspicious financial transactions to specialized teams handling such matters,” he said.

According to him, the establishment of the new section has strengthened the police’s role within Nigeria’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing framework.

Police Seek More Training From NFIU

Disu appealed to the NFIU to provide more training opportunities for police officers in financial intelligence, asset tracing, and the monitoring of illicit financial flows.

“Let us share intelligence. Let us train together. When training opportunities come, we plead that you allocate some slots to the police, especially on tracking the movement of money.

“We are sure that 50 per cent of these crimes can be solved simply by following the money,” he added.

Earlier, the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, Hafsat Bakari, described the Nigeria Police Force as a key partner in the country’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing efforts.

She noted that financial intelligence has become an indispensable tool in investigating terrorism financing, kidnapping, cybercrime, corruption, human trafficking, drug trafficking, illegal mining, arms trafficking, and other organized crimes.

“Financial intelligence has increasingly become the thread that connects criminal conduct to those who profit from it,” Bakari said.

She commended the Nigeria Police Force for its contribution to Nigeria’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list and called for stronger collaboration ahead of the country’s 2027 mutual evaluation.

Bakari added that the NFIU would continue supporting the police through intelligence sharing, strategic analysis, operational assistance, and capacity-building initiatives to strengthen Nigeria’s fight against financial crimes and terrorism financing.