President Tinubu Appoints Hafsat Bakari As NFIU Boss

President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of Ms. Hafsat Abubakar Bakari to serve as the Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU).

Her nomination is subject to confirmation by the Senate.

If confirmed, Ms. Bakari will replace Modibbo Tukur, who was sacked in July 2023.

Bakari is a lawyer and financial intelligence expert with years of experience in anti-money laundering, counter-terrorism financing, and counter-proliferation financing (AML/CFT/CPF).

Before her appointment as the Chief Executive Officer of the NFIU, Bakari served as Deputy Director at the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, and was at different times the Head of the General Services Unit; Head of the Strategy and Reorientation Unit, and Head of the Board Secretariat of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The President anticipates that Ms. Bakari 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.