Tinubu Meets FBI Director, Calls for Stronger Collaboration to Fight Terrorism, Cybercrime

Deji Elumoye in Abuja

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.
The FBI is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States of America, and its principal federal law enforcement agency.

The President, according to a statement issued by his Media Adviser, Ajuri Ngelale, who spoke yesterday, during a meeting with FBI Director, Christopher Asher Wray, at the State House in Abuja, declared, “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 said.

Tinubu described the presence of the FBI Director alongside his team in Nigeria as a recognition of the enduring partnership between Nigeria and the United States in the fight against financial crimes and terrorism.

He said: “It is an honour for me to receive Director Christopher Wray, the leader of an organization 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.”

The President told the FBI Director that his administration has prioritised education as a tool against poverty, which is 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,” he added.

Noting that no single country could combat financial crimes in isolation, Tinubu called on the United States to support developing countries with the requisite technology and knowledge transfer required to combat complex international crimes.

Earlier in his remarks, Wray said he was in the country to enhance the “outstanding partnership” that exists between the government of Nigeria and the government of the United States.

He lauded Tinubu for supporting the growing partnerships between various agencies of government and the FBI in order to protect the citizens of both countries.

According to the FBI Director: “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.”