The #ProtectWhatsYours campaign, which aims to increase awareness of illicit funding, was launched on Thursday in collaboration with the Nigerian government, civil society, and media.
The initiative, according to the UK government, aims to motivate Nigerians to identify and report financial crime in their immediate surroundings and invites the Nigerian diaspora to report from locations throughout the globe where assets may be found.
The Big story
According to Torchlight Group, the campaign’s organizers, Nigeria loses an estimated $18 billion yearly to illegal activities like bribery, internet fraud, and failure to pay taxes. Every Nigerian loses the equivalent of $35,000 yearly, according to Torchlight Group, and these outflows have a substantial impact on the economic stability of the nation.
The group said as it launched the campaign on Thursday. “This money can provide world-class facilities for Nigerians, build roads, create jobs, provide better educational systems and provide better and affordable housing systems,”
What they are saying
In a statement, The British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Catriona Laing said “It is important we understand the direct harms that illicit finance causes, this is a crime that affects every citizen of Nigeria…The UK has partnered to deliver this innovative prevention campaign and we thank all agencies, civil society groups and media organizations who collaborated to deliver the films and content. This is another excellent example of UK/Nigeria co-operation in tackling illicit finance,”
The result
Nine government organizations including the EFCC, ICPC, and FIRS, have partnered with the media and civil society to support the #protectwhatsyours campaign.