Testimony Omole

[Spaces for Change @Spaces4Change]

Capping the activities of the Opening Ceremony with the official launch of the novel AML/CFT report titled, "Overcompliance with FATF Recommendation 8 in West Africa: Towards Dismantling Regulatory Burdens for NGOs".

The report traces the historical background and drivers of overcompliance with FATF Recommendations in the subregion, including how they manifest through mandatory registrations, multiple licensing points, financial exclusion, bank over-regulation, duplicity and overlapping regulatory functions, among others.

It concludes with targeted recommendations for international watchdogs, external assessors, state regulators, financial institutions, and NPOs, too.

Download the report 👉 https://t.co/g3LwfXtkLN

#3AMLCFT26

[Spaces for Change @Spaces4Change]

The 3rd Africa High-Level Civil Society AML/CFT Conference kicked off today in Abuja, Nigeria! Thanks to all 200+ delegates that attended the four (4) masterclasses today on FATF Recommendation 8.

#3AMLCFT2026

[Action Group on Free Civic Space @ActionGroupFCS]

A gentle reminder that the webinar on Insecurity, State Police, and Civic Space holds tomorrow, Friday 26 June.

Please join via this link:https://t.co/j5dBpKbLxe

We look forward to your participation

[Spaces for Change @Spaces4Change]

Balancing rigid compliance with humanitarian action presents a critical operational dilemma for financial institutions. Strict adherence to counter-terrorism financing laws, sanction regimes, and AML/CFT regulations can delay life-saving aid, block important transfers for humanitarian assistance, and may result in the derisking of non-profit organizations serving populations in great need.

How are banks and other financial institutions transitioning from the rules-based to the risk-based approach in line with the revised Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendation 8? How are they ensuring that the enforcement of AML/CFT compliance measures is not obstructing legitimate humanitarian action? Let's hear directly from the bankers and the Compliance Institutes.

Join experts discussing this issue at one of the Masterclasses at the 3rd Africa High-Level Civil Society Conference on AML/CFT: 👇

Tagbo Chinanu Nwajagu, CAMS - Deputy Director, Development and Finance Institutions Supervision Department, Central Bank of Nigeria (@cenbank)

Manet Basson - Managing Director, FTI Consulting, Johannesburg, South Africa (@FTIConsulting)

Bawo Egbakhumeh (MPA, CAMS, CFE, ACIB, ACIN) - Registrar/CEO, Compliance Institute, Nigeria (@Compliance_Inst)

Rianne Potgieter, CA(SA), CProf(SA), ICCP - CEO, International Federation of Compliance Associations (IFCA)

This 90-minute intensive masterclass is open to interested participants, including civil society organizations, financial institutions, regulators, compliance officers, and AML/CFT enthusiasts.

Click the link 👉🏿 https://t.co/qEd1pClzCC to secure your spot.

#FinancialInclusion #RiskManagement #Nonprofit

[Spaces for Change @Spaces4Change]

What do external assessors at the Financial Action Task Force (@FATFNews) and FATF regional style bodies (FSRBs) look out for when determining whether or not a country is compliant with FATF Recommendation 8?

Join the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) and the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (@esaamlg) as they clarify the unique roles of FSRBs as intermediaries between FATF global standards and national implementation, and shed light on the ways countries can adequately prepare for mutual evaluations, follow-up procedures, and the ICRG process, while protecting civic space.

Come and hear directly from the assessors at this exciting masterclass at the 3rd Africa High-Level Civil Society AML/CFT Conference:

Gina Wood - Acting Principal Legal Officer, Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA)

Emil Meddy - Research and Documentation Officer, Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA)

Kelebogile Moremi, Legal Expert, Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG)

Click the link 👉🏿 https://t.co/qEd1pClzCC to secure your spot.

#3AMLCFT2026 #FATF #GreyList #AML #CFT

[Spaces for Change @Spaces4Change]

Good practices in implementing @FATFNews Recommendation 8 require countries to adopt focused, proportionate, and risk-based measures that protect the non-profit organization (NPO) sector from terrorist financing (TF) abuse without unduly disrupting, discouraging, or over-regulating legitimate charitable activities.

Join the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL) at the 3rd High-Level Africa Civil Society AML/CFT Conference to discuss how African countries are advancing these good practices through a multisectoral approach. This session will feature insightful submissions and engagements from experts across diverse sectors, including:

Richard Apau - Senior Programme Officer, African Union Counterterrorism Centre, Algiers

Florence Nakazibwe - Senior Legal Advisor for Africa, ICNL

Leah Diana Mitaba - Executive Director of the Zambia Council for Social Development (ZCSD)

Dr. Buno Nduka - Immediate past Director of Evaluation and Compliance, GIABA, and the Chief Executive Officer/Lead Consultant at Multivariate Compliance and Resource Centre, Nigeria

Dr. Paula Monjane - Director of the Women’s Voice and Leadership (WVL-Aliadas), Mozambique

Brian Kimari - Research Fellow and Program Manager, Centre for Human Rights and Policy Studies (CHRIPS), Kenya

🔗Don't miss this crucial conversation. Register here to secure your spot 👉 https://t.co/VPfs9DGOhj.

#3AMLCFT2026 #AML #CFT #FATFR8 #NonProfits

[Spaces for Change @Spaces4Change]

Last week, @Spaces4Change's housing rights partner, the Communities Alliance Against Displacement (CAD), held its first general meeting of the year in Lagos, Nigeria.

Bringing together 53 leaders and representatives from Lagos' informal communities that have either suffered forced eviction or are still facing imminent eviction threats, the meeting enabled CAD members to reflect on the past year's advocacy initiatives and develop new strategies for sustaining the momentum for collective action at a time when housing rights violations persist.

Community representatives also discussed how to deepen their engagement with relevant stakeholders, particularly as the country moves closer to the election season. The meeting ended with decisive actions for addressing forced eviction, promoting housing rights, scaling solidarity action, and pursuing legal redress where appropriate.

#HousingRights #Displacement #HousingRightsAreHumanRights

[Spaces for Change @Spaces4Change]

Yesterday, CSO representatives, legal practitioners, government regulators, media professionals, and investigative journalists joined @Spaces4Change in Abuja for the local launch of its pacesetting report - "Victims Speak: Techniques, Patterns, and Impacts of Targeted Surveillance in Nigeria", focused on targeted surveillance, digital repression, cyber harassment, and the shrinking civic space in Nigeria. The report documents the lived experiences of civic actors targeted by unlawful surveillance in Nigeria.

The conversation at the Launch explored patterns of abuse, the impact on victims, accountability gaps, and the urgent need for stronger safeguards for digital rights and civic freedoms. Participants expressed concern over the scale and sophistication of surveillance techniques documented in the report, as well as the limited avenues for victims to seek redress or accountability. Many were alarmed by how victims often face intimidation, psychological distress, reputational harm, and financial consequences without adequate institutional support or remedies, reflecting how these experiences affect victims beyond the digital space.

Click the link to read the report - https://t.co/xUPa8bOWS5

#DigitalRights #Surveillance #OnlineFreedom

[Premier League @premierleague]

Congratulations, @ManCity, #ePremierLeague 2025/26 champions! 🎮🏆

[Spaces for Change @Spaces4Change]

@Spaces4Change unveils an analysis of the HRDs Bill, assessing its promise to protect HRDs amid shrinking civic space in Nigeria, while highlighting gaps and recommendations to improve clarity, enforceability, and constitutional coherence.
Download 👉 https://t.co/IT418WDanL

[Spaces for Change @Spaces4Change]

On March 10, @Spaces4Change joined the Economic and Financial Crimes Commmision (EFCC) and the Special Control Unit against Money Laundering (SCUML) at the flag-off ceremony for the review of Nigeria's terrorism financing risk assessment of the nonprofit sector.

[Action Group on Free Civic Space @ActionGroupFCS]

Over 40 representatives from civil society organisations, civic actors, activists, and journalists gathered for the 2026 Action Group on Free Civic Space Retreat to reflect, strategize, and strengthen collaboration.

[Spaces for Change @Spaces4Change]

🚨 NEW REPORT 🚨

@Spaces4Change unveils the 2nd ed. of the Trends Mapping Report

📃801 incidents across 16 West African countries (2022–2024)

📈26% rise from the first edition.

🔑Repression is now regional, systematic, and state-driven.

Download 👉 https://t.co/vrtEGQys09

[Spaces for Change @Spaces4Change]

Last week, @Spaces4Change convened 30+ stakeholders across govt, telecoms, law, academia, civil society and media to examine how human rights can be protected alongside business and security objectives in Nigeria. 1/2

[Spaces for Change @Spaces4Change]

@Spaces4Change, with support from @OpenSociety, convenes a 2-day capacity-building training for over 100 members of two Bayelsa Neighbourhood Watch Groups, under the SRO project, focusing on legal approaches to community policing and collaboration with security agencies.

[Action Group on Free Civic Space @ActionGroupFCS]

Ongoing!
The Action Group on Free Civic Space (AGFCS), in partnership with @KDI_ng, with support from @FundHumanRights is convening a multi-stakeholder roundtable examining the implications of the Public Order Act on civic freedoms in Nigeria.

[Action Group on Free Civic Space @ActionGroupFCS]

INVITATION: Online Policy Roundtable on Security & Civic Space

Dear Comrades,

The Open Society on Justice Reform Project (OSJRP) @⁨Sam Akpologun⁩, in partnership with the Action Group on Free Civic Space, with support from the Fund for Global Human Rights

[Spaces for Change @Spaces4Change]

On this International Day for Clean Energy, @Spaces4Change reaffirms its commitment to a transition that is clean, inclusive, and just, leaving no community behind.

#InternationalDayOfCleanEnergy #JustTransition #CleanEnergy #OilDivestment

[Spaces for Change @Spaces4Change]

To the state government, these are shanties, but to the residents, this is the place they call HOME! Stop #MakokoDemolitions!!!

[Civic Space Resource Hub for West Africa @csrhubWA]

40 orgs. from the South-South and South-East are in Port Harcourt for @Spaces4Change's Digital Security Clinic under the CSR-Hub, strengthening their digital resilience with training on data protection, digital rights, cybersecurity, spyware abuse, and tech-facilitated GBV.