Nigeria stands to gain from forensic bill, says society

HUGE gains will accrue to Nigeria when the bill for the establishment of Chartered Institute of Forensics and Certified Fraud Examiners is passed into law, practitioners have said.

They also said immediate results would be drastic reduction of frauds, embezzlement, economic crimes, financial crimes and corruption in both public and private sectors of the economy.

The proposed Chartered Institute is made up of multidisciplinary professionals with diverse expertise in the use of various forensics tool kits for intelligence gathering and investigation of wide- ranging cases thus getting precise and unambiguous results

Speaking recently at the ANAN House, Abuja against the background of the First Reading of the bill at the House of Representatives, the President/ Chairman of Council of the Society for Forensic Accounting and Fraud Prevention ( SFAFP), Iliyasu Gashinbaki, said other benefits include: Creation of jobs in the 774 councils because of its wide applications and operations, which cut across the three tiers and arms of the government and the private sector; help Nigeria fight corruption; trace- track- recover lost funds/ assets/ resources; build capacity; attract foreign investments and build/ restore the confidence of investors in the Nigeria economy.

According to Gashinbaki “The key strategic objective of the bill when passed into law is to significantly reduce both domestic and global challenges posed by embezzlement, organized crime, money laundering, terrorist financing, trans- national organized crime and cybercrimes by training and deploying competent professional forensic experts, fraud examiners and investigative professionals that would meet the demand of the growing complexities of the financial system and the digital economy.”

Other benefits of having the Chartered Institute are: providing technical assistance and capacity building on anti- corruption through continuous skills development for professional practitioners, law enforcement agencies, public and private enterprises in Nigeria and beyond; fostering international cooperation and enhancement of foreign direct investment into the country by creating safe and investment friendly environment for investors and Promotion of transparency and accountability in dealing with public and private sector operations in the economy among others.

The Society for Forensic Accounting and Fraud Prevention ( SFAFP) is a Professional Association registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission ( CAC). The Society, a brainchild of the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria ( ANAN), was established to provide machinery for training, supervision and regulation of the practice of Forensics, Fraud Examination and Fraud Prevention in Nigeria. On Tuesday, March 2, 2021, the bill to establish the Chartered Institute of Forensics and Certified Fraud Examiners of Nigeria ( Establishment) Bill 2021 passed 1st Reading in the House Representatives, Federal Republic of Nigeria. The bill is sponsored by Hon. Yusuf Buba Yakub, Chairman, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.