The House of Representatives, on Tuesday, passed the bill seeking to establish the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU).
The bill, when passed into law, will make the body independent.
It will also make it the central body responsible for receiving, requesting and analysing financial intelligence report.
The passage of the bill followed the harmonisation of the report of the conference committee of the two chambers of the National Assembly – the House of Representatives and Senate.
The report was presented by the Chairman of the House Committee on Financial and Economic Crimes, Kayode Oladele, at plenary.
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It would be recalled that the Senate passed the bill in July, 2017.
The independence of the group was the prerequisite for the membership of Egmont Group by Nigeria.
The financial transparency group had suspended Nigeria over the lack of independence of NFIU from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The passage of the bill which will guarantee NFIU’s independence will save it from expulsion from the Egmong Group.
Fundamentally, membership of the group allows for the sharing of financial intelligence among the 153 member countries.
In addition, membership also aids government’s recovery of funds stashed abroad by corrupt individuals.
