President Bola Tinubu, has called for stron- ger collaboration between Nigeria’s law enforcement agencies and the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the fight against cybercrime, terrorism, and other related crimes. The FBI is the domestic intelligence and secu- rity service of the United States of America, and its principal federal law enforcement agency.
The President spoke during a meeting with FBI Director, Christopher Asher Wray, at the State House yesterday. Security chiefs, who attended the meeting in- cluded the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu; Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun; Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Yusuf Magaji Bichi; the Chair- man of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brigadier-Gen- eral Mohamed Buba Mar- wa (Rtd); Chief of Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), Major-General Emmanuel Undiandeye; Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Olanipekun Olu- koyede; and the National Coordinator of the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), Major-General Adamu Laka.
Tinubu described the presence of the FBI Director alongside his team in Nigeria as recognition of the enduring partnership between Nigeria and the United States in the fight against financial crimes and terrorism. According to a release by his spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, the President said: “It is an honour for me to receive Director Christo- pher Wray, the leader of an organisation that has demonstrated consistent procedural sophistication and a reputation for excel- lence over several years.
“Your visit conveys the importance of Nigeria and Nigerian partnership in the work of America’s law en- forcement institutions and vice-versa. “For us, it is recognition of what stage we are at, who we are, and the level of interest both countries share in eliminating crimes locally and globally.
”We cannot achieve this important feat of eliminat- ing crimes without collaboration. Incidentally, as the Chairman of ECOWAS, Nigeria is also collaborating with other West African countries to fight economic and other related crimes,” the President said. He told the FBI Director that his administration has prioritised education as a tool against poverty, which is generally believed to be a driver of criminal activities. ”We are working hard to eliminate terrorism, cybercrimes, extortion, and I am glad that we have a good number of agencies that are involved in reducing these crimes to the barest minimum, and they are also well represented at this meeting,” the President said. Noting that no single country could combat financial crimes in isolation, the President called on the United States to support developing countries with the requisite technology and knowledge transfer required to combat complex international crimes.
In his remarks, Wray said he was in the country to enhance the “outstand- ing partnership” that exists between the government of Nigeria and the govern- ment of the United States. He lauded Tinubu for supporting the growing partnerships between var- ious agencies of govern- ment and the FBI in order to protect the citizens of both countries. ”We appreciate the President’s vision in coun- tering terrorism in the re- gion, which is a dangerous threat, not only to the countries in the region but also to the United States. ”We appreciate your vi- sion in re-engineering the role of the Office of the NSA to effectively coordinate ef- forts on counter-terrorism, and this has already started to bear fruits in terms of the success you are recording against ISIS in West Africa and other terrorist groups.
