The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) says criminals are radicalising people and funding insurgency via anonymous online channels.

The agency warned that money laundering and terrorism financing are threatening the country’s stability, economic systems, national security, and democratic institutions.

The ICPC chairman, Musa Aliyu, said the advent of the internet, social media, and artificial intelligence has drastically altered the financial crime landscape.

Mr Aliyu noted that criminals now launder proceeds of crimes across jurisdictions at the click of a button.

He spoke during a national Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) media outreach programme, organised by the Intergovernmental Action Group Against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA), in collaboration with the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU).

“They radicalise and fund extremist networks through anonymous online channels. They deploy sophisticated cyber-enabled fraud schemes that target unsuspecting citizens across the length and breadth of our country.

“The speed and anonymity that digital technologies afford have made detection far more challenging and the stakes considerably higher,” said Mr Aliyu.

He, however, noted that the same technologies used by criminals present extraordinary opportunities for society when in the right hands, adding that good people need to be several steps ahead of what he called the crime curve.

“We do not have to be perpetually on the back foot. And it is in this regard that I wish to commend the NFIU for its deployment of advanced analytics, artificial intelligence, and real-time transaction monitoring systems to detect suspicious financial flows with greater precision and speed.

“This is exactly the kind of forward-looking, technology-driven approach that must define our collective response to crime in the twenty-first century. We must not merely react to the crime curve. We must anticipate it.

“It is against this backdrop that the role of the media assumes singular importance,” Mr Aliyu stated.

The NFIU’s chief executive officer, Hafsat Bakari, said, “Illicit financial flows often fuel organised crime, corruption, trafficking networks, and violent extremism.”

GIABA’s country director, Timothy Melaye, urged media practitioners to help citizens deepen their narratives to identify and expose money laundering.

“More importantly, the media must not allow itself to be used by suspected money launderers and looters of the public treasury to truncate the course of justice,” Mr Melaye added.

Also speaking, Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, confirmed that money laundering and terrorist financing remain significant threats to the stability of Nigeria’s economy and the West African subregion.

“These crimes are often complex, transnational, and constantly evolving, requiring a coordinated, informed, and proactive response from all stakeholders.

“The federal government of Nigeria has, over the years, demonstrated unwavering commitment to strengthening its AML/CFT framework through legislative reforms, institutional capacity building, and regional and international collaboration, as well as enhanced inter-agency partnership.

“We continue to align with global standards and best practices. However, beyond laws and enforcement mechanisms, public awareness and understanding are indispensable in winning this fight,” Mr Fagbemi said.