The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ola Olukoyede, has expressed willingness to collaborate closely with the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) to combat money laundering and human trafficking more aggressively.
He stated this during a courtesy visit by the NAPTIP Director-General, Binta Bello Adamu and the agency’s executive team at the Commission’s corporate headquarters in Abuja.
The chairman of the EFCC clarified that money laundering and human trafficking are closely related and that every attempt should be made to fight back against both crimes simultaneously.
“There’s a very strong nexus between human trafficking and money laundering. Wherever human trafficking takes place, there will be money laundering, so that makes it necessary for us to work together,” he said.
He noted that NAPTIP is essential to Nigeria’s economic growth, he assured NAPTIP of the EFCC’s support while pledging the Commission’s commitment to making sure the relationship is further enhanced for the best results.
“Even though there’s an existing relationship, the essence of enhanced collaboration is to strengthen it and take it to a higher level.
“So, we will always be willing to collaborate with you, especially in areas like joint investigation, public awareness, resource mobilisation, and manpower development as you have requested.
“The mandate of your agency is critical to our economic development and in giving a good international reputation to our country.
So we will always be willing to support and collaborate with you,” he said.
While speaking, Binta highlighted that “the key points for this visit today are to seek collaboration on joint investigation, cybercrime and online trafficking investigation because this kind of crime involves a lot of finances, intelligence sharing, and capacity building, public awareness, and resource mobilisation.
“I need all the support that will make us succeed in this fight to curtail the menace of human trafficking and violence against persons to the barest minimum,” she said.
While referring to the close collaboration and achievements between NAPTIP and the EFCC since its founding, she recalled that a strong partnership with the EFCC led to her agency’s historic indictment in 2022 of a global human trafficker that operated between Nigeria and European nations.
She said, “Because of that, we think it is very important to come and present ourselves again before the Executive Chairman, particularly regarding the fight against human trafficking.”
“Previous joint efforts also yielded notable results, such as the 2021 rescue operation that liberated 500 human trafficking victims from Libya, Europe, and the Middle East, and the 2020 partnership that resulted in the arrest of several traffickers and the recovery of over N100 million illicit funds.”