The United Kingdom (UK) Government said that illicit financial crimes cost every Nigerian about N35, 000 for each year of their life, and robs the population of about $18 billion annually.

With this, it said it was extending partnership and support to the Nigerian Government, civil society groups, and media to launch a campaign aimed at raising awareness on illicit finance.

In a statement yesterday, the British High Commission in Nigeria said that the campaign was tagged: ‘#ProtectWhatsYours’. It said the campaign would be seen on TV and online, to highlight the detrimental and long-lasting effects that illegal financial activity was having on communities and Nigeria’s entire economy.

“Financial crimes directly impact upon the development and economic growth of Nigeria, with the monies lost each year being diverted away from key areas for sector growth; including infrastructure, technology, the health and education sector.

“The #ProtectWhatsYours campaign seeks to encourage Nigerians to recognise and report the financial crime in their immediate environment. “It also calls on Nigerians in the Diaspora to report from around the world, where assets can be located,” it said.

The UK Government said illicit finance and associated crimes do not recognise borders, which was why the campaign was necessary to empower citizens to report suspected financial criminals to the relevant authorities.

The British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Catorina Laing, said: “It is important we understand the direct harms that illicit finance causes.” She said that the campaign was aimed at demonstrating these harms and encouraging people to report to the relevant agencies. Laing said that this would help to continue the excellent work in investigating the individuals who were involved in illicit finance.

“The UK has partnered to deliver this innovative prevent campaign and we thank all agencies, civil society groups and media organisations who collaborated to deliver the films and content. This is another excellent example of UK and Nigeria co-operation in tackling illicit financial crime,” Laing said Mr Andrew Clowes, the Illicit Finance Lead, Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said: “This is an innovative project which has brought together Nigeria’s government agencies, civil society, and media organisations to produce the key messages in this campaign.

“Each year, thousands of people in Nigeria are arrested for committing financially associated crimes. “We hope that this campaign will help to reduce criminal activity even further, tracing and recovering of stolen assets is key to the campaign message,” he added. (New Telegraph)

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