Distinguished delegates, the question before this conference is not whether Africa will comply with global standards on terrorist financing — it is whether we will do so intelligently.
Recommendation 8 of the Financial Action Task Force asks us to protect non-profit organisations from abuse. It does not ask us to treat every charity as a suspect. When regulation becomes indiscriminate, we do the terrorists’ work for them: we choke the very organisations that hold our communities together.
Nigeria’s experience shows a different path. By segmenting the sector by risk, focusing supervision where the evidence leads, and building genuine dialogue with civil society, we have strengthened both security and trust.
I urge my fellow heads of agencies across the continent: let us be precise. Precision is what separates law enforcement from harassment — and precision is what the rule of law demands of us.