Non-Profit Organisations operating in the South-East have been trained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to avoid being vulnerable to terrorist financing and to understand how such vulnerability can be prevented without disrupting legitimate humanitarian work.
During the training, which was organised by the EFCC in collaboration with Spaces for Change, the Executive Director of Spaces for Change, Victoria Ibezim-Ohaeri, said the exercise was not designed to create fear among non-profit organisations or portray them as sources of terrorism financing.
She said, “The assessment would help organisations understand the risks around them and take appropriate steps to protect themselves. The essence of the programme is not to scare NPOs; it is to help us understand the terrorism-financing risk assessment process, the national risk assessment and the risks that may exist within the NPO sector.”
She said consultations were being conducted across the country because risks and operational realities differ from one region to another. Evidence gathered from organisations working in different locations would help the country develop a more accurate picture of the sector.
Ibezim-Ohaeri warned that terrorist actors understood and could exploit institutional vulnerabilities, adding that such actors might create entities that appear legitimate or take advantage of weaknesses in genuine organisations to move funds, access resources or support terrorist activities.
