President Bola Tinubu on Friday received the director of the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Christopher Asher Wray, assuring him that Nigeria is working hard to eliminate terrorism, cybercrime, and other criminal activities.
Tinubu spoke during a meeting with the FBI director at the State House in Abuja, calling for collaboration between Nigeria and other countries in West Africa to rid the region of crimes.
“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,” Tinubu was quoted as saying in a statement by his spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale.
“’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.
“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.”
Tinubu said his administration has prioritised education as a tool against poverty which is generally believed to be a driver of criminal activities.
Noting that no country can combat financial crimes in isolation, President Tinubu called on the United States to support developing countries with the requisite technology and knowledge transfer required to combat complex international crimes.
In his remarks, Director 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.