President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of Hafsat Bakari as the Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit.
Bakari’s appointment is pending confirmation by the Senate. She will be taking over from Modibbo Tukur, who was removed from his position by Tinubu in June 2023.
The announcement was made in a statement by Tinubu’s Special Adviser to the President (Media and Publicity), Ajuri Ngelale.
Bakari is a lawyer and financial intelligence expert with extensive experience in anti-money laundering, counter-terrorism financing, and counter-proliferation financing.
Prior to becoming the Chief Executive Officer of the NFIU, she held the position of Deputy Director at the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit.
She also served as the Head of the General Services Unit, the Head of the Strategy and Reorientation Unit, and the Head of the Board Secretariat at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission at various points in her career.
The statement added that Tinubu, “anticipates that Ms. Bakare 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.”
