The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has urged the Oyo State Government to enact a law empowering the registration and regulation of Non-Profit Organisations (NPOs) to prevent the sector from being exploited for terrorism financing.
The Executive Chairman of the EFCC, Ola Olukoyede, made the call in Ibadan during a three-day risk assessment exercise focused on data collection, engagement with Oyo State Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and relevant security agencies, as well as sensitisation of NPOs.
Olukoyede noted that enacting the law would ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and establish proper monitoring mechanisms to guide the operations and activities of NPOs.
He said this would help prevent the sector from being used as a conduit for terrorism financing in Oyo State and Nigeria at large.
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Olukoyede was represented by the Lagos Zonal Coordinator of the Special Control Unit Against Money Laundering (SCUML) of the EFCC and Team Lead of the 2026 National Terrorism Financing Risk Assessment delegation for the Non-Profit Organisation Sector in Southwest Nigeria, Assistant Commander of the EFCC (ACE 1), Ibinabo Amachree.
The EFCC Chairman highlighted the threats and vulnerabilities within the NPO sector, including unintended consequences that could be exploited by terrorist networks, and stressed the need for resilience against the spread of such networks in the Southwest.
He noted that recent kidnappings across the region made the risk assessment exercise necessary to address emerging security threats.
Olukoyede urged NPOs to continue supporting and complementing the Oyo State Government’s efforts in providing basic social amenities, humanitarian assistance, support for vulnerable populations and healthcare services towards achieving sustainable economic development in the state.
He also urged NPOs operating in the state to take advantage of the sensitisation component of the exercise and adopt measures to protect their activities and resources from being channelled towards terrorism financing.
The EFCC Chairman assured stakeholders of the Commission’s unwavering support in tackling terrorism financing in the country.
The Oyo State Acting Governor, Bayo Lawal, represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Professor Musibau Babatunde, assured of the state’s continued support for the EFCC and other relevant agencies conducting the National Terrorism Financing Risk Assessment exercise.
Babatunde noted that terrorist elements were increasingly exploiting crowdfunding, humanitarian interventions and informal financial channels to raise and move funds.
He assured that the Oyo State Government would take the necessary steps to ensure that NPOs were not exploited for terrorism financing in the state.
The Director of the Department of State Services (DSS), Oyo State Command, Usman Biu, pledged that the Command would continue to work with the Oyo State Ministry of Women Affairs, which is responsible for engaging with NPOs in the state.
Biu said that, as part of the DSS mandate, all lists of registered NGOs forwarded to it were profiled, vetted and cleared before they commenced operations.
For his part, the General Officer Commanding, 2 Division Nigerian Army, Major General Auwalu Mahnuda, represented by his Chief of Staff, Brigadier General M.I. Falana, commended the EFCC for recognising that combating terrorism financing required the contributions of relevant stakeholders.
He said the Nigerian military would continue to provide adequate and timely information to expose terrorism financing activities within Oyo State and Nigeria at large.
At the conclusion of the assessment exercise, NPOs from Lagos, Osun and Oyo states converged on Ibadan and were sensitised on the need to comply with existing policies guiding their activities and maintain public trust and confidence in the legitimate operations of charitable organisations.
Voice of Nigeria reports that the risk assessment exercise demonstrates the Nigerian Government’s commitment to risk-based supervision and reflects Nigeria’s resolve, through the EFCC, to remain aligned with international standards in combating terrorism financing.
The 2026 National Terrorism Financing Risk Assessment team was drawn from the EFCC, international and local non-governmental organisations, and state and federal MDAs across the country.
