SERAP asks CBN governor to provide information on alleged money laundering to Boko Haram
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, (SERAP) has issued a Freedom of Information request to Mr Godwin Emefiele asking him to “urgently provide information about the persons involved in alleged money laundering through the Central Bank of Nigeria to fund the activities of the Boko Haram, which have contributed to the unlawful killings of innocent Nigerians and destruction of property.”
The organization also asked Mr Emefiele to provide “within 14 days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter information on the exact nature and duration of any such transactions.”
The organisation threatened “all appropriate legal actions under the Freedom of Information Act to compel you to comply with our request.”
In the request dated 15 September 2014 and signed by SERAP executive director Adetokunbo Mumuni, the organization said that, “Given the involvement of the CBN in this matter and the fact that you are the governor of the bank, we believe that you will be able to use your position and leadership to provide appropriate records and information on what exactly happened.”
Emefele, CBN Gov
“SERAP is concerned about the damaging allegation especially given that the CBN as a regulatory body has a responsibility under the UN Convention against Corruption and other national laws to prevent money laundering in banks, and to ensure that its systems are transparent and accountable to the Nigerian people,” the organization said.
The organization also said that, “It is necessary to provide clarity as to what exactly happened through the CBN if the bank is to continue to play a leadership role in the fight against corruption and money laundering, and to enjoy the public trust and confidence essential for its effectiveness.”
“Providing the information would also help to ensure full accountability for those involved in international crimes, and contribute to the process of providing effective remedies for victims,” the organization added.
According to the organization, “By virtue of Section 1 (1) of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2011, SERAP is entitled as of right to request for or gain access to information, including information on any transaction or money laundering activities that may have been carried out through the CBN, and the said information is in the custody or possession of any public official, agency or institution.”
The organization also said that, “By virtue of Section 4 (a) of the FOI Act when a person makes a request for information from a public official, institution or agency, the public official, institution or urgency to whom the application is directed is under a binding legal obligation to provide the applicant with the information requested for, except as otherwise provided by the Act, within 7 days after the application is received. By Sections 2(3)(d)(V) & (4) of the FOI Act, there is a binding legal duty to ensure that documents containing information relating to alleged money laundering through the CBN is widely disseminated and made readily available to members of the public through various means.”
According to the organization, “The information being requested does not come within the purview of the types of information exempted from disclosure by the provisions of the FOI Act. The information requested for, apart from not being exempted from disclosure under the FOI Act, bothers on an issue of national interest, public peace and concern, interest of human rights, social justice, good governance, transparency and accountability.”
“The disclosure of the information requested will give SERAP and the general public a true picture and a clear understanding of the extent of the involvement of the CBN in any money laundering to Boko Haram,” the organization also said.
It would be recalled that a Perth-based international adviser to Nigeria, Dr. Stephen Davis, who for four months was involved in negotiations on behalf of the federal government with commanders of Boko Haram for the release of over 200 schoolgirls kidnapped by the sect last April, has named a former top official of the Central Bank of Nigeria among those that have provided funds and other logistics to Boko Haram to commit crimes under international law.
Similarly, Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka has stressed that information about a suspected financier from the CBN of the Boko Haram was passed to President Goodluck Jonathan. According to him, “Stephen Davis also mentioned a Boko Haram financier within the Nigerian Central Bank. Independently we are able to give backing to that claim, even to the extent of naming the individual. In the process of our enquiries, we solicited the help of a foreign embassy whose government, we learnt, was actually on the same trail, thanks to its independent investigation into some money laundering that involved the Central Bank.”