Forensic Investigators to Establish Academy for Financial Fraud Detection

Udora Orizu in Abuja

The Chartered Institute of Forensic and Investigative Professionals of Nigeria (CIFIPN) has said it has concluded every arrangement to construct an academy to serve as the institute’s training ground

for prospective members and other forensic investigators.

The Protem President of CIFIPN, who disclosed this in Abuja, at a dinner and award night organised for members and stakeholders of the institute, however did not mention where the academy would be cited when established.

According to her, prospective members would be expected to undergo a one-year training and pass exams in three stages to qualify for professional membership, adding that they must be graduates in the relevant fields to qualify for admission into the academy.

“We are waiting for President Muhammadu Buhari to sign the CIFIPN bill into law following its passage at the National Assembly. Forensic investigation is an emerging trend; it was not there in the 60s when some of the Acts were established.

“Considering our projection of a pacesetter status of CIFIPN, we are hoping to acquire land that will house a state of the art forensic training centre. The purpose of CIFIPN has been called into question while the naysayers have continued to blackmail and even procure the services of other professionals to discourage the government from doing the needful.”

She added: “We are more like never before persuaded that Mr. President will assent to the bill in no distant time; it is on this note that we plead with the president to see the urgency that is required in ensuring that the bill is assented to.”

The CIFIPN boss also disclosed that the institute was working on establishing a well-equipped forensic laboratory for fraud investigation and analysis, appealing to stakeholders to, as a matter of priority help the institute in that regard.

She said, “This is no mean project; your support is most needed. At the moment, we are gradually running out of enough office space. We urgently need an office accommodation that will befit the status of CIFIPN; we are counting on your unalloyed support.

“Without any iota of doubt, our most ranked priority at the moment is to see that the CIFIPN bill is assented to by Mr. President.”
However, the Vice-Chancellor, Niger Delta University in Bayelsa State, Prof. Samuel Edoumiekumo, urged Enape to allow the institute begin its operation in the institution, promising to facilitate a block of building to CIFIPN for its forensic training pending when the academy would be ready.

“I will want this institute to have their training at my university just as we have ANAN in Jos. Some of us are at the forefront of fighting corruption and detecting fraud.

“We need to incorporate forensic investigation into our university system and we can discuss with the National Universities Commission (NUC) to see how it can work,” Edoumiekumo said.