President Bola Tinubu has named Ms. Hafsat Abubakar Bakari as the new Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), pending Senate confirmation.
The appointment was disclosed in a statement by the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, on Tuesday evening.
Ms. Bakari, a legal expert and financial intelligence specialist, boasts extensive experience in anti-money laundering, counter-terrorism financing, and counter-proliferation financing (AML/CFT/CPF).
Before her potential appointment as the NFIU’s Chief Executive Officer, she held positions such as Deputy Director at the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit and served in various capacities at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), including Head of the General Services Unit, Head of the Strategy and Reorientation Unit, and Head of the Board Secretariat.
“The President anticipates that Ms. Bakare will bring her wealth of experience and expertise to full discharge in this critical role, especially in view of his administration’s war against illicit financial flows and other sharp practices currently prevalent in segments of the nation’s foreign exchange markets,” the statement said.