To equip investigators with the right skills to detect latest digital and cybercrimes that undermine national security, the Nigeria Police Force yesterday began a three-day training for specialised units.
The training, being conducted in partnership with a private firm, HFM, drew partiticoants from Cybercrime Unit, Anti-Fraud Section, INTERPOL National Central Bureau, Anti-Money Laundering Units, Police Special Fraud Unit, forensic and intelligence components, as well as state and zonal criminal investigation departments.
Officers involved in counter-terrorism financing and ransom payment tracking were also drafted in reflecting the links between financial crimes and violent offences.
The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, who declared the training open, said the training was critical to national security.
He noted that financial crimes were fuelling terrorism, kidnapping, cyber fraud and other organised criminal activities.
The IGP, who was represented by the Commissioner of Police (CP), Training at the Force Headquarters, Abuja, Edwin Eloho, said the rapid growth of digital trading platforms, online forex markets and cross-border transactions had created new opportunities for fraud, illicit financial flows and organised crime, making specialised investigative skills indispensable.
“Financial crime is a major enabler of violent crime. Terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, arms trafficking and transnational organised crime all depend on illicit financial flows for recruitment, logistics and operations,” said Egbetokun.
He stressed that enhanced capacity to investigate digital trading abuses, forex fraud, money laundering and Ponzi schemes was a direct investment in public safety and national security.
Egbetokun explained that the training was designed to equip officers with a practical understanding of the digital financial ecosystem, legitimate trading practices, emerging fraud typologies and key investigative red flags, to help distinguish lawful investment activity from criminal deception.
He described the programme as part of the NPF’s broader policing reforms, which place manpower development and technological competence at the centre of operational effectiveness in a rapidly digitalising crime environment.
“Over the three days, participants will be trained in digital trading systems, forex market operations, fraud detection techniques, investigative methodologies, intelligence analysis and inter-agency collaboration,” he said, urging participants to apply the knowledge gained to real-life cases and to cascade the expertise within their respective units to improve investigative outcomes and public confidence.
Egbetokun also commended HF Markets Nigeria Limited for supporting the initiative and for its commitment to regulatory compliance, transparency and investor education, noting that effective policing in modern financial systems required structured public-private collaboration in line with global anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing standards.
Earlier, HFM’s Managing Director, Ope Abiola, said the training was conceived to address the gap between the rapid evolution of financial markets and public understanding, which often complicates investigations.
Abiola noted that digital trading and forex transactions frequently sit at the intersection of finance, technology and human behaviour, making related disputes complex and rarely straightforward.
“The objective is to provide clarity on how digital trading systems work, distinguish legitimate market loss from criminal deception, and define the responsibilities of traders, brokers and other market participants,” he said.
The programme, he said, was structured to be neutral and evidence-based, focusing on practical frameworks rather than opinions, to help investigators avoid criminalising legitimate market activity while identifying genuine wrongdoing.
The training, he added, would be deemed successful if participants left with clearer tools for separating fraud from failure and evidence from allegation.
