The acting Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mr. Abdulkarim Chukkol, has called on civil society organisations to deepen collaboration with the EFCC in the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing in the Northeast.

Chukkol stated this on Thursday, July 27, 2023, during a one-day engagement between the commission and the civil society organisations under the aegis of Network for Civil Society Organisations at Pinnacle Hotel, Maiduguri, Borno State.

He said, “I believe as civil society organisations you are yearning for an egalitarian society, which means your interest is not for you alone but for the totality of our society. You are the voice of the voiceless, therefore, the CSOs should lend their voices and professionalism in exposing wrongdoings in our society.”

He noted that the responsibilities of the EFCC as the vanguard of Nigeria’s anti-corruption campaign cannot be actualized without the support of stakeholders such as the CSOs.

While appreciating participants, Chukkol specifically acknowledged the potential of women in reorientation and urged them to continue to utilise their innate talents in inculcating attitudinal change in their children.

In her remark, the head of enlightenment and re-orientation Unit, Aisha Mohammed said, “We need to collaborate with the CSOs in order to tame the monster called corruption, as Nigeria is the only country we call ours and we must all come on board to fight it head-on. Therefore, we should try and report money launderers and terrorist financiers among us to the EFCC and other law enforcement agencies.”

The Executive Director, Network for Civil Society Organisations, Mallam Bulama Abiso who was represented by the Deputy Executive Director, Mallam Yusuf Tom advised participants to report their activities to the Special Control Unit against Money Laundering (SCUML) as required by law.

He further urged the EFCC to register its presence at the local government level as well as collaborate more closely with the traditional leaders in order to easily access information of corrupt activities at the grassroots.