By Musa Harun
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), in collaboration with the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on Saturday sensitized stakeholders on the legal requirements for the movement of cash across borders.
Speaking during the sensitisation program in Kano, Mr. Ahmed Mohammad-Wada, Resident Commissioner of ICPC, said the program was aimed at educating stakeholders on the legal framework governing cash movement in and out of Nigeria.
“Our mandate is to prevent corruption, enforce the law, and create public awareness,” he stated.
He emphasised that the agency’s goal is not to witch-hunt individuals but to sensitise the public and stakeholders on the laws governing currency movement.
According to him, Nigeria falls under the green list of countries, and he urged Nigerians to collaborate to make the country corruption-free.
On his part, the EFCC Zonal Commander, Ibrahim Shazali, described the program as timely, adding that it was aimed at identifying challenges encountered by stakeholders and tackling the menace.
“Also, to highlight the consequences of non-compliance with Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Counter-Terrorism Financing (CTF) laws, and foster collaboration between regulatory agencies and stakeholders,” he said.
He emphasised that laws have been put in place to regulate cash declaration before movement, geared towards tackling money laundering.
“There are so many issues that have to do with ignorance; hence, this meeting will pave the way to curtail the problem of illegal cash transactions and movement towards achieving the set objectives,” he noted.
Also, the Area Controller of Nigeria Customs, Kano/Jigawa Command, Dalhatu Abubakar, highlighted the importance of collaboration and innovation in tackling corruption.
Abubakar noted that the NCS has intercepted undeclared currencies in Lagos, Kano, and other places, attributing the problems to ignorance.
“Laws require you to declare the amount of money you are carrying. With the declaration, no caution would be caused,” he said.
The Chairman of Bureau de Change (BDC), Kano, Alhaji Sani Dada, said the sensitisation program was very timely.
“It is very unfortunate that a lot of currencies are being confiscated from our members at airports and other places by regulatory agencies due to ignorance, which leads to the non-declaration of the currencies they are carrying,” he noted.
Spotlight Post reports that the ICPC presented topics on “Overview of the Corrupt Practices Act 2000,” while the EFCC presented “Illegal Cash Movement at Nigerian Airports: Consequences, Legal Framework, and EFCC Enforcement Role,” as well as “The Role of the Nigeria Customs Service at International Airports.”
The program attracted participants from the CBN, ICPC, EFCC, Customs, BDCs, and other sectors of the financial industry