Tinubu receives FBI boss, seeks stronger collaboration to fight cyber-crime, terrorism

President Bola Tinubu has called for stronger collaboration between Nigeria’s law enforcement agencies and the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the fight against cybercrime, terrorism, and other related crimes.

According to a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, President Tinubu urged this on Friday during a meeting at the State House in Abuja with FBI Director, Christopher Asher Wray.

President Tinubu characterised the visit of the FBI Director and his team to Nigeria as a sign of the longstanding partnership between Nigeria and the United States in combating financial crimes and terrorism.

He stated that his administration is diligently striving to eradicate terrorism, cybercrimes, and sextortion.

Tinubu also expressed satisfaction that several agencies are actively engaged in significantly reducing these crimes, and he noted their strong representation at this gathering.

The statement read in part “It is an honour for me to receive Director Christopher Wray, the leader of an organisation that has demonstrated consistent procedural sophistication and a reputation for excellence over several years. 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.”

President Tinubu informed the FBI Director that his administration had placed a high priority on education as a means to combat poverty, which is widely recognised as a factor contributing to criminal activities.

It continued, “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.”

Highlighting that no nation can tackle financial crimes alone, President Tinubu urged the United States to assist developing countries by providing the necessary technology and expertise to combat sophisticated international crimes.

According to the statement, Wray expressed his intent to strengthen the “outstanding partnership” between the Nigerian and U.S. governments during his visit.

He praised President Tinubu for endorsing the expanding collaborations between government agencies and the FBI to safeguard citizens of both nations.

Wray acknowledged the President’s leadership in combating regional terrorism, recognizing it as a significant threat to both the region and the United States.

It stated, “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 concluded.

Security chiefs who attended the meeting include the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu; Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun; Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Yusuf Magaji Bichi; the Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brigadier-General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd); and the Chief of Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), Major-General Emmanuel Undiandeye.

Others are the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Olanipekun Olukoyede, and the National Coordinator of the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), Major-General Adamu Laka.