The Senate on Wednesday concluded arrangements to separate the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
By so doing, the NFIU, which is being controlled by the EFCC, will become independent.
Over the years, there has been a struggle for the control of the NFIU by the EFCC, a battle that has led to power play between the heads of the two agencies.
But based on a Senate resolution on Wednesday, a bill would be presented to remove the NFIU from the control of the EFCC.
The Senate’s decision was sequel to a motion sponsored by Senator Utazi Chukwuka over the suspension of Nigeria from the EGMONT group, which is a network of national financial intelligent units and it is the highest inter-goveenmental association of intelligence agencies in the world.
The group at its meeting in China, suspended Nigeria from EGMONT till January 2018, with a threat of expulsion if Nigeria does not meet with the group’s demand with regards to its operation.
Leading the debate on the motion, Utazi accused the Acting Chairman of EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, of meddling in the affairs of NFIU, which has led to the departure of many competent hands from the agency.
He also ascribed the suspension of Nigeria from the group to the divulging of confidential information concerning the activities EGMONT.
He said: “The granting of autonomy to the NFIU has been aggressively and progressively resisted by the EFCC and that the Committee, in order to provide the needed autonomy for the NFIU to meet its primary mandate, technically and logistically, considered the budget of the NFIU separately from that of the EFCC in the 2007 budget, but for the non-provision of budget by the Budget Office and the reluctance of the EFCC to do the administrative necessity required.”