Chief Bola Ahmed Tinubu has called for enhanced cooperation between Nigeria’s law enforcement agencies and the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to tackle cybercrime, terrorism, and related offenses.
Tinubu made this appeal during a meeting with FBI Director Christopher Wray at the State House in Abuja on Friday.
Tinubu highlighted the significance of the FBI director’s visit, emphasizing the ongoing partnership between Nigeria and the U.S. in combating financial crimes and terrorism. He underscored that collaboration is essential to eliminating crimes locally and globally.
Key Nigerian security officials present at the meeting included National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu, Inspector-General of Police Kayode Egbetokun, State Security Services Director-General Yusuf Magaji Bichi, NDLEA Chairman Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), DIA Chief Maj.-Gen. Emmanuel Undiandeye, EFCC Chairman Olanipekun Olukoyede, and NCTC National Coordinator Maj.-Gen. Adamu Laka.
Tinubu stated, “Your visit conveys the importance of Nigeria and Nigerian partnership in the work of America’s law enforcement institutions and vice-versa.
“For us, it is a recognition of what stage we are at, who we are, and the level of interest both countries share in eliminating crimes locally and globally.
“We cannot achieve this important feat of eliminating crimes without collaboration.
“Incidentally, as the Chairman of ECOWAS, Nigeria is also collaborating with other West African countries to fight economic and other related crimes.”
He told the FBI director that his administration had prioritised education as a tool against poverty, which was generally believed to be a driver of criminal activities.
“We are working hard to eliminate terrorism, cybercrimes, sextortion, and I am glad that we have a good number of agencies that are involved in reducing these crimes to the barest minimum, and they are also well represented at this meeting,” Tinubu added.
In response, FBI Director Wray expressed his commitment to strengthening the partnership between Nigeria and the U.S., praising Tinubu’s efforts in counter-terrorism and cybersecurity.
Wray assured continued support in areas including counter-terrorism, cyber-enabled crimes, kidnapping, joint investigations, and intelligence sharing.
Wray stated, “We appreciate the President’s vision in countering terrorism in the region, which is a dangerous threat, not only to the countries in the region but also to the United States.
“We appreciate your vision in re-engineering the role of the Office of the NSA to effectively coordinate efforts on counter-terrorism, and this has already started to bear fruits in terms of the success you are recording against ISIS in West Africa and other terrorist groups.
“We appreciate your support and collaboration on cyber-enabled crimes and sextortion, which has unfortunately resulted in a few tragic deaths in the United States.
“I want to assure you of our support whether it is on counter-terrorism, cyber-enabled crimes, kidnapping, joint investigations, and intelligence sharing. Our relationship with Nigeria is a very important one,” the FBI director disclosed.
(NAN)
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