To comply with FATF’s AML/CFT standards, Nigeria has introduced several laws, regulations and guidelines restricting civil society. For a long time many Nigerian CSOs were not aware, or had not understood, the links between AML/CFT rules and the closing of civic space. This meant that the real reasons behind restrictions remained unchallenged for a long time. Further, despite FATF Recommendation 8 calling for a risk-based approach to avoid blanket restrictions on all organisations, restrictive proposals have continued to be introduced and adopted in Nigeria.
To push back against the restrictions, our partner organisations, alongside ECNL, trained several CSOs, and organised different activities to expand CSOs’ knowledge and advocate for changes. One of our key partners, SPACES FOR CHANGE | S4C carried out strategic research and policy advocacy resulting in the following positive outcomes:
- Awareness raising: The research contributed to massive awareness-creation of civil society and CSOs on the AML/CFT drivers of governmental restrictions.
- Dialogue: The research findings attracted government attention, expanding the space for sustained dialogue and engagement between CSOs and Nigeria’s AML/CFT regulators.
- Participation in country assessment: The combination of the first two outcomes above paved the way for Nigerian CSOs to develop a sectoral response and participate actively in FATF’s/GIABA’s Mutual Evaluation processes for the first time. Previous country assessments were undertaken with minimal or no CSO sector participation.
Read more in the article written by Victoria Ibezim-Ohaeri, Executive Director, SPACES FOR CHANGE | S4C, originally posted on the website of the Global NPO Coalition on FATF.
The reports from the SPACES FOR CHANGE | S4C Action Group on Free Civic Space focus on how security and counter-terrorism measures are used to curtail civic freedoms in Nigeria, but also highlight the downstream harms arising from the international counter-terrorism architecture.
For the full reports, see The Security Playbook of Digital Authoritarianism in Nigeria and Harms from Abroad – The Impact of Global Security Measures on the Civic Space in Nigeria.
Successful advocacy update as of May 2022
After relentless efforts led by S4C, CSOs have been removed from the list of obliged reporting entities under the law on money-laundering. This means CSOs will be exempt from the onerous reporting and registration requirements they had been exposed to under AML/CFT rules, giving them more time and less disruptions to carry out their legitimate, charitable operations.
Read the full statement from S4C on this important advocacy win.
