The Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit has been separated from the Economic and financial Crimes Commission, the anti-graft Boss, Ibrahim Magu, has disclosed.
The EFCC boss made this known before the Senate Committee on Anti-corruption and Financial Crimes.
He said the NFIU would begin its operation fully by January 1 next year.
According to him: “We have allowed NFIU to go.
“They are operationally autonomous and independent of EFCC, they will be independent of the EFCC.
“We have given them financial autonomy.”
Magu told the lawmakers that the anti-graft agency prepared a separate budget for the agency in the 2018 Budget proposal, with N2.9 billion for the take off, but the Budget Office approved N800 million.
Magu said: “We presented a proposal of N2.9 billion for the take off of the agency in the 2018 Budget, but the Budget Office proposed N800 million for the NFIU in the budget.”
On concluded cases, the anti-graft boss Informed the committee that over 200 cases have been concluded within one month.
Speaking on the invasion of the residence of the Chief Executive of Innoson Motors, Chief Innocent Chukwuma, Magu, who was grilled for over 30 minutes by the Committee in closed door, confirmed the arrest when he was accosted by the newsmen after the meeting, adding that the agency would issue a statement on what really happened.
Speaking earlier before the committee embarked on closed session, Senator Chukwuka Utazi expressed dissatisfaction with the N800 million budget proposal given to the agency considering the enormous task of the NFIU.
According to Utazi, the N800 million in the budget of the NFIU is not enough for the agency to do ita work effectively because it involved travelling from one country to another.