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Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) has moved to forge a new public-private partnership that will bring banks, fintechs, insurers, virtual asset providers and regulators together to tackle increasingly sophisticated financial crimes and illicit financial flows.

The initiative, known as the Joint Financial Intelligence Collaboration (JFIC), is designed to create a trusted platform for public and private institutions to share financial intelligence, detect emerging threats and disrupt illicit financial networks.

The NFIU unveiled the framework at a stakeholders’ engagement in Abuja yesterday, with support from the British High Commission and the Convention for Business Integrity (CBi).

Representatives of banks, insurance companies, fintechs, Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs), technology firms, regulators and other stakeholders participated in the engagement, which was aimed at moving the proposed partnership from concept to implementation.

Representing the NFIU Chief Executive Officer, Hafsat Bakari, the Unit’s General Counsel, Felix Obiamalu, said the engagement marked a decisive turning point in the development of the initiative.

“We have moved from dialogue to design, to commitment and implementation,” Obiamalu said.

He stressed that the objective was no longer merely to discuss the concept, but to jointly determine the structure, operation and value of the partnership and how it could be sustained.

“The objective is no longer simply to discuss the concept. It is to jointly determine what this partnership should look like, how it should operate, what value it should create and how it can be sustained over time,” he said.

The NFIU said the initiative was premised on the recognition that no single institution could effectively combat modern financial crime in isolation, making intelligence sharing and coordinated action between government and industry increasingly critical.

Speaking on behalf of the British High Commission, Jehanzeb Khan, Illicit Financial Flows Officer at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), reaffirmed the importance of stronger collaboration between government and the private sector in combating illicit financial flows.

Managing Director of the Convention for Business Integrity, Olusoji Apampa, said the process was deliberately structured to place the private sector at the centre of decision-making.

According to him, this would ensure that the emerging framework reflects operational realities and secures broad ownership among stakeholders.

Delivering the keynote presentation, former Chair of the Egmont Group and former Director of South Africa’s Financial Intelligence Centre, Xolisile Khanyile, described private-sector participation in the fight against financial crime as a national responsibility.

She urged Nigeria to adopt a practical and phased approach to implementing the proposed collaboration.

“Trust, shared ownership and collaboration are the foundations of every successful public-private partnership,” Khanyile said.

She added that given Nigeria’s strategic importance within the global anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) framework, the initiative was both timely and necessary.

The engagement ended with strong stakeholder support for the proposed JFIC framework and a commitment to advancing a partnership capable of strengthening financial intelligence, improving threat detection and enhancing Nigeria’s response to increasingly sophisticated financial crimes.

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Oil prices surged yesterday with Brent crude hitting over  $107 per barrel for the first time since May, as traders braced for a more prolonged supply shock caused by the Iran war.

Oil prices have climbed back above the $100 per barrel mark this week as fighting in the Strait  of Hormuz and Red Sea has intensified. The US and Iran have traded strikes, while the Iran-backed Houthis have attacked Saudi Arabia and ignited tensions in the Bab al-Mandab Strait.

In Nigeria, fuel prices have continued to rise, with the cost of diesel (Automotive Gas Oil) reaching about N2,000 per litre in some locations, while petrol has climbed beyond N1,400 per litre in parts of the country.

The fresh increases are adding to pressure on businesses and households, particularly manufacturers, transport operators and other users that depend heavily on petroleum products for power and mobility.

The development has also raised concerns over a renewed increase in transportation and production costs, with businesses likely to pass higher energy expenses on to consumers through increased prices of goods and services.

The latest surge in pump prices comes despite increased domestic refining capacity, underscoring the continued impact of crude supply, distribution costs, market conditions and other factors on the pricing of petroleum products.

Yesterday, Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose 6.1 per cent and traded at $107.40 per barrel while  US crude rose 6.2 per cent and hit $102 per barrel for the first time since May.

Resurgent conflict has stoked concerns of further disruptions to global oil supplies and the flow of crude through the Strait of Hormuz.

“The step up in attacks in the Strait of Hormuz and by the Houthis against Saudi Arabia suggests that Iran and its proxies are trying to regain the initiative in the war,” Jason Tuvey, deputy chief emerging markets economist at Capital Economics, said in a note.

“This could set back the recovery in oil output in the Gulf and raises the risk that global energy prices rise even further in the coming weeks,” Tuvey said.

For the first time since the war started, S&P Global Energy said Thursday it does not expect Middle East oil production to return to pre-war levels by the end of next year. The firm no longer assumes a definitive end to the war nor a return to normal in the Strait of Hormuz by the end of 2027.

S&P now expects oil prices to stay high in the $80 to $100 a barrel range  through next year.

The rise in oil prices has added to nerves about inflation and central bank rate hikes, sending ripples through bonds and stocks, a CNN report stated.

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Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE has approved 32 banks, fintechs, mobile operators and other platforms through which investors can subscribe for its shares when the public offer opens.

The company published the list on its official IPO website, warning investors to subscribe only through channels listed on the platform.

The approved channels comprise 20 banks, 17 fintech companies, two mobile operators and NGX Invest.

The company said, “Only subscribe through the channels listed on this page. Do not subscribe through any channel not confirmed here.”

Access Bank
Ecobank
FCMB
Fidelity Bank
FirstBank
Globus Bank
GTCO
Jaiz Bank
Keystone Bank
Lotus Bank
PremiumTrust Bank
Providus Unity
Stanbic IBTC
Sterling Bank
TAJ Bank
UBA
Union Bank
VFD
Wema Bank
Zenith Bank

Fintechs

Bamboo
CardinalStone
Coronation Wealth
Cowrywise
Flutterwave
InvestNaija
InvestNow
Ladder
Meritrade
Moniepoint
Paga
Payaza
PiggyVest
Revve
Vetiva Invest
we.yan
ZedCrest

Mobile operators

Airtel SmartCash
MTN MoMo

NGX

NGX Invest

The refinery’s website currently lists the offer price at ₦525 per share, with a minimum subscription of 10 shares, valued at ₦5,250.

The public offer is part of the Dangote Refinery’s plan to raise capital from the Nigerian investing public through the sale of ordinary shares.