President Bola Ahmed Tinubu met with FBI Director Christopher Wray at the State House in Abuja to discuss strengthening cooperation between Nigeria and the U.S. in combating cybercrime and terrorism.
The FBI, the main federal law enforcement agency in the U.S., focuses on domestic intelligence and security. According to Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, the President emphasized the importance of the meeting.
Security chiefs attending included the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu; Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun; DSS Director-General, Yusuf Magaji Bichi; NDLEA Chairman, Brigadier-General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd); DIA Chief, Major-General Emmanuel Undiandeye; EFCC Chairman, Olanipekun Olukoyede; and NCTC National Coordinator, Major-General Adamu Laka.
Tinubu said the FBI Director’s visit highlights the strong partnership between Nigeria and the U.S. in fighting financial crimes and terrorism.
The President said,
”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.
”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,”
He also mentioned that his administration prioritizes education to combat poverty, which often leads to crime. Tinubu called for U.S. support in providing technology and knowledge to help developing countries tackle international 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,” the President said.
FBI Director Wray expressed his commitment to enhancing the strong partnership between Nigeria and the United States, praising President Tinubu for supporting collaborations between government agencies to protect citizens of both countries.
FBI Director concluded,
”We appreciate the President’s vision in countering terrorism in the region, which is a dangerous threat, not only to the countries in the region but also to the United States.
”We appreciate your vision in re-engineering the role of the Office of the NSA to effectively coordinate efforts on counter-terrorism, and this has already started to bear fruits in terms of the success you are recording against ISIS in West Africa and other terrorist groups.
”We appreciate your support and collaboration on cyber-enabled crimes and sextortion, which has unfortunately resulted in a few tragic deaths in the United States.
”I want to assure you of our support whether it is on counter-terrorism, cyber-enabled crimes, kidnapping, joint investigations, and intelligence sharing. Our relationship with Nigeria is a very important one,”
