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SEC Restates Commitment To Fight Money Laundering, Terrorism Financing

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The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has expressed commitment to ensuring that the capital market was not used for money laundering and terrorism financing.
SEC Acting Director-General, Ms Mary Uduk stated this in her opening remarks at the Anti Money laundering (goAML) training for compliance Officers of capital market operators (CMOs) in Lagos, yesterday.
Uduk, represented by a Deputy Director and Head of Department, Monitoring, Malam Adamu Sambo, said that the commission would ensure that the capital market domain was not used in anyway to inject illegal funds.
She said that the commission, as the apex regulator of the Nigerian capital market with a vision to developing and regulating a world class Capital Market, would not relent in its drive to fighting the menace of money laundering and terrorism financing.
Uduk said that financial institutions needed to shoulder great responsibility in ensuring compliance with all rules and regulations governing financial system.
“It is our collective responsibility as stakeholders to collaborate and work together as a community in building more capacity in the system for effective compliance programme.
“The principles for market intermediaries is to have an efficient functioning system that delivers compliance with standards for internal organisations and operational conduct.
“The commission is investing in human capital training and developments in addition to the promotion of innovative technology and proffer solutions in the SEC’s and the capital market operations as contained in the SEC 10-year Capital Market Master Plan (CMMP),” Uduk said.
She said that the go AML training organised in partnership with the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) was going to be hands on practical approach aimed at addressing challenges by CMOs in rendition of statutory returns and taking compliance to the next level in the capital market.
Uduk, however, expressed the commission’s readiness to engage relevant stakeholders in building capacity on developments and trends in compliance; changes in laws and rules and regulations, the interpretation and application of same by the relevant authorities.
She said that these would encourage and promote the culture of compliance among financial institutions.
“goAML software application is a fully integrated software solution developed specifically for use by Financial Intelligence Units (FIU’s) and is one of United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) strategic responses to financial crime, including money-laundering and terrorist financing,” she said.
The training was in line with the initiatives introduced by the SEC to sustain the confidence of investors in the capital market and to instill discipline in the transactional processes in the market.

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Kenyan Runners Dominate Berlin Marathons

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Kenya made it a clean sweep at the Berlin Marathon with Sabastian Sawe winning the men’s race and Rosemary Wanjiru triumphing in the women’s.

Sawe finished in two hours, two minutes and 16 seconds to make it three wins in his first three marathons.

The 30-year-old, who was victorious at this year’s London Marathon, set a sizzling pace as he left the field behind and ran much of the race surrounded only by his pacesetters.

Japan’s Akasaki Akira came second after a powerful latter half of the race, finishing almost four minutes behind Sawe, while Ethiopia’s Chimdessa Debele followed in third.

“I did my best and I am happy for this performance,” said Sawe.

“I am so happy for this year. I felt well but you cannot change the weather. Next year will be better.”

Sawe had Kelvin Kiptum’s 2023 world record of 2:00:35 in his sights when he reached halfway in 1:00:12, but faded towards the end.

In the women’s race, Wanjiru sped away from the lead pack after 25 kilometers before finishing in 2:21:05.

Ethiopia’s Dera Dida followed three seconds behind Wanjiru, with Azmera Gebru, also of Ethiopia, coming third in 2:21:29.

Wanjiru’s time was 12 minutes slower than compatriot Ruth Chepng’etich’s world record of 2:09:56, which she set in Chicago in 2024.

 

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NIS Ends Decentralised Passport Production After 62 Years

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The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has officially ended passport production at multiple centres, transitioning to a single, centralised system for the first time in 62 years.
Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, made the disclosure during an inspection of the Nigeria’s new Centralised Passport Personalisation Centre at the NIS Headquarters in Abuja, last Thursday.
He stated that since the establishment of NIS in 1963, Nigeria had never operated a central passport production centre, until now, marking a major reform milestone.
“The project is 100 per cent ready. Nigeria can now be more productive and efficient in delivering passport services,” Tunji-Ojo said.
He explained that old machines could only produce 250 to 300 passports daily, but the new system had a capacity of 4,500 to 5,000 passports every day.
“With this, NIS can now meet daily demands within just four to five hours of operation,” he added, describing it as a game-changer for passport processing in Nigeria.
“We promised two-week delivery, and we’re now pushing for one week.
“Automation and optimisation are crucial for keeping this promise to Nigerians,” the minister said.
He noted that centralisation, in line with global standards, would improve uniformity and enhance the overall integrity of Nigerian travel documents worldwide.
Tunji-Ojo described the development as a step toward bringing services closer to Nigerians while driving a culture of efficiency and total passport system reform.
According to him, the centralised production system aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda, boosting NIS capacity and changing the narrative for improved service delivery.
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FG To Roll Out Digital Public Infrastructure, Data Exchange, Next Year 

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The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has announced plans to roll out Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and the Nigerian Data Exchange (NGDX) platforms across key sectors of the economy, starting in early 2026.
Director of E-Government and Digital Economy at NITDA, Dr. Salisu Kaka, made the disclosure in Abuja during a stakeholder review session of the DPI and NGDX drafts at the Digital Public Infrastructure Live Event.
The forum, themed “Advancing Nigeria’s Digital Public Infrastructure through Standards, Data Exchange and e-Government Transformation,” brought together regulators, state governments, and private sector stakeholders to harmonise inputs for building inclusive, secure, and interoperable systems for governance and service delivery.
According to Kaka, Nigeria already has several foundational elements in place, including national identity systems and digital payment platforms.
What remains is the establishment of the data exchange framework, which he said would be finalised by the end of 2025.
“Before the end of this year and by next year we will be fully ready with the foundational element, and we start dropping the use cases across sectors,” Kaka explained.
He stressed that the federal government recognises the autonomy of states urging them to align with national standards.
“If the states can model and reflect what happens at the national level, then we can have a 360-degree view of the whole data exchange across the country and drive all-of-government processes,” he added.
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