MONEY LAUNDERING AND NATIONAL SECURITY IN NIGERIA: IMPLICATIONS AND GOVERNMENT COUNTERMEASURES

Abstract

Money laundering is a critical challenge to Nigerian national security, enabling insurgency, banditry, and economic instability. This study examines the relationship between money laundering and national security, focusing on its impacts and government countermeasures. Using a survey research design, data were collected via structured questionnaires and key informant interviews with 400 personnel from relevant security and financial regulatory agencies, supplemented by secondary official reports. Data were analyzed using simple percentages and presented in tables. The findings reveal that money laundering significantly fuels insecurity by financing violent activities and weakening economic stability through capital flight, inflation, and exchange rate volatility. It further undermines public confidence in state institutions. Although Nigeria has established robust institutional frameworks, legal reforms (such as the Money Laundering Prevention and Prohibition Act), and public enlightenment initiatives, their effectiveness is frequently constrained by enforcement gaps and poor inter-agency coordination. The study concludes that money laundering remains a foundational threat to the Nigerian state. It underscores the urgent need for a more proactive, integrated approach that prioritizes the disruption of illicit financial networks alongside traditional military efforts. Recommendations include enhancing inter-agency intelligence sharing, deploying advanced financial surveillance technologies, and deepening international cooperation on asset recovery to mitigate the national security risks associated with illicit financial flows in Nigeria."