Alumni in Focus

Madam Aisha

Prosecutor - Nigeria

Madam Aisha at the FICA training

On our “Alumni-in-Focus” post this month is a Prosecutor from Nigeria.

During introductions on the first day of our Fundamental Investigative Criminal Analysis (FICA) course, one participant from Nigeria stated that she was unsure of what she could possibly learn, since she was convinced that the course is only beneficial to investigators. At the end of the class however, she was all smiles when she said to me “this is one of the best trainings I’ve had in my career”. This made me reflect on the investigator-prosecutor nexus and on the importance of having both investigators and prosecutors, training together. On our “Alumni-in-Focus” post this month is Madam Aisha - a Prosecutor from Nigeria. Let’s pick her brain for lessons on her RTC training experience.

Could you briefly tell us about your law enforcement career?

"I currently work as a prosecutor in the Legal and Prosecution section of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in Nigeria. I’ve worked there for the last eight and half years. Prior to joining the EFCC, I worked as a lawyer, for the Government."

I realized that as a prosecutor, you had a few reservations at the beginning of the course. Could you tell us why?

"Well as the name suggested (FICA), I assumed it was a purely investigative course. But really, it was the icing on the cake, in the sense that, it was an in-depth training that broadened my perspective on financial crimes, more than I expected."

Having attended this training, how important is it to have investigators and prosecutors attend the same training?

"It is very important because the training sheds light on how to thoroughly analyze financial crimes and brings out the intricacies of investigating a financial crime- something which prosecutors may not be privy to. As a prosecutor the training opened my eyes to possible leads and ways of finding evidence that we can use to successfully handle a case for trial. As a prosecutor, I learnt a lot from the investigators in the class and my respect for them definitely grew."

Let’s talk Post-RTC. How has the training been beneficial to your career?

"Well when I got back to my organization, I was anxious to share the knowledge from the RTC with my colleagues and I wish they get the opportunity to experience such a training experience. You know my organization essentially deals with money laundering cases so this training was spot-on for me. I am better equipped with the knowledge to provide expert legal advice on money laundering cases. When a case file is now presented to me, I use aspects of the training to highlight issues and areas to “dig further” for evidence."

Now that’s an RTC success story. Do you have any story on how the training received at the RTC has helped you in your career? Feel free to share with us (info@westafricartc.org) and we’ll publish it in a subsequent newsletter. Such stories motivate us in our work and give us hope of a more secure continent. Hats off to our FICA instructors- Todd, Joe and Tim!

[Post by: Sarah Dadson. Sarah is the Delegate & Alumni Coordinator for the West Africa Regional Training Center. Email her at info@westafricartc.org]