FIC REPORT (OYO STATE) – The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Ola Olukoyede, has urged the Oyo State Government to enact a law to regulate the registration, monitoring, and supervision of Non-Profit Organisations (NPOs) to prevent their exploitation for terrorism financing.
Olukoyede said that such a law should strengthen regulatory oversight of NPOs and ensure that humanitarian donations and other resources meant for legitimate activities were not diverted to fund terrorist operations.
He made the call through the Lagos Zonal Coordinator, Special Control Unit Against Money Laundering (SCUML), and Team Leader of the 2026 National Terrorism Financing Risk Assessment delegation to the NPO sector in the South-West region of Nigeria, Assistant Commander of EFCC, ACE I Ibinabo Amachree.
Amachree represented the EFCC chairman at a three-day terrorism financing risk assessment exercise, which began in Ibadan on Tuesday, September 1, 2026.
The exercise focused on gathering data and engaging Oyo State ministries, departments and agencies, security agencies and NPOs on emerging threats and vulnerabilities within the sector.
Olukoyede stressed the need for urgent measures to ensure stringent registration, monitoring and supervision of NPO activities, noting that recent kidnapping incidents across the South-West had heightened the need to assess and address emerging security threats.
He said NPOs played an important role in providing humanitarian assistance, healthcare services and support for vulnerable populations, urging them to put in place measures to protect their activities and resources from being diverted for terrorism financing.
The EFCC chairman commended the Oyo State Government, the Director of the Department of State Services (DSS), Oyo State Command, Usman Biu, and the General Officer Commanding (GOC), 2 Division, Nigerian Army, Ibadan, who was represented by Brigadier General M.I. Falana, for their support towards the success of the exercise.
He also assured stakeholders of the Commission’s continued commitment to tackling terrorism financing in the country.
In his remarks, the Oyo State Acting Governor, Barrister Bayo Lawal, represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Professor Musibau Babatunde, pledged the state’s continued support for the EFCC and other agencies involved in the national risk assessment exercise.
Babatunde noted that terrorist elements were increasingly exploiting crowdfunding, humanitarian interventions and informal financial channels to raise and move funds.
He said Governor Seyi Makinde’s administration would take necessary steps to ensure NPOs were not used as channels for terrorism financing in the state.
Also speaking,the Director of DSS, Oyo State Command, Usman Biu, said the exercise was significant to the state’s security architecture, adding that the Department of State Service would continue to work with the Oyo State Ministry of Women Affairs in monitoring NPO activities.
He disclosed that lists of registered NGOs forwarded to the command were profiled, vetted and cleared before they commenced operations, in line with the DSS mandate.
The GOC, 2 Division, Nigerian Army, Major General Auwalu Mahnuda, who spoke through his Chief of Staff, Brigadier General M.I. Falana, commended the EFCC for involving the relevant stakeholders in the fight against terrorism financing.
He said the Nigerian military would continue to provide timely and adequate information that could assist in identifying and disrupting terrorism financing networks in Oyo State and across the country.
The exercise, which was organised for NPOs from Oyo, Osun and Lagos states, targeted sensitizing the stakeholders on compliance with existing regulations and the need to maintain public trust in legitimate charitable activities.
The exercise, according to the EFCC, underscored the Federal Government’s commitment to risk-based supervision of the NPO sector and Nigeria’s continued alignment with international standards in the fight against terrorism financing.
The 2026 national risk assessment team comprised representatives of the EFCC, international and local non-governmental organisations, as well as state and federal ministries, departments and agencies.
Report by Israel Arogbonlo, I&PROII.
Edited by Moses Oyelade, AD(I&PR).
FIC, Ibadan.
