CBN Elevates Terrorism Financing Supervision to Current Priority
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has elevated terrorism financing supervision to a current supervisory priority, placing greater attention on how regulated financial institutions identify, monitor and report risks linked to terrorism financing.
According to a CBN statement reported on 8 September 2026, the enhanced supervisory focus covers terrorism financing risk management, transaction monitoring, implementation of targeted financial sanctions and suspicious transaction reporting related to terrorism financing.
The CBN said it will continue to apply a risk-based supervisory approach through both on-site and off-site engagements. The objective is to support effective anti-money laundering, counter-terrorist financing and counter-proliferation financing controls across the financial sector.
Supervision Focuses on Effectiveness Under Existing Rules
The announcement does not introduce a new AML/CFT law or a separate set of reporting obligations. The CBN expressly framed the initiative as intensified supervision under existing legal and regulatory requirements.
For financial institutions, the practical significance is therefore supervisory rather than legislative. Institutions may face closer scrutiny over whether terrorism financing risks are reflected in customer risk assessments, transaction-monitoring scenarios, targeted financial sanctions controls, escalation processes and suspicious transaction reporting.
The CBN also linked the initiative to Nigeria’s domestic and international cooperation on counter-terrorist financing, counter-proliferation financing and broader financial-integrity objectives, and said further supervisory engagement would be undertaken where appropriate.
The move adds to Nigeria’s recent emphasis on strengthening the effectiveness of AML/CFT controls across the financial sector, with regulators increasingly focused not only on the existence of policies but also on how those controls operate in practice.
Sources
TheCable — CBN raises terrorism financing supervision to priority, 8 September 2026
Channels Television — CBN Elevates Terrorism Financing Supervision As Current Priority, 8 September 2026
