The Special Control Unit Against Money Laundering (SCUML), a department under the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has been declared Nigeria’s “Most Effective Regulatory Agency of the Year 2025.”
The declaration was made by Governance Today Nigeria in collaboration with the African Independent Good Governance Monitoring Network (AGMN).
Dele Oyewale, Head, Media & Publicity in a statement on Saturday stated that the award was presented in Abuja on Thursday, September 25, 2025, during the group’s National Merit Awards ceremony tagged “ICONS of Good Governance.”
SCUML also earned induction into the group’s Hall of Fame after beating other nominees in the public governance category.
Organisers described the honour as recognition of SCUML’s “contribution to the fight against money laundering and countering terrorist financing through its regulatory standpoint.”
Convener of AGMN, Dr. Sylvester Omose, defended the choice of SCUML, saying the Unit had distinguished itself in recent years.
He argued that SCUML had delivered effectively on its mandate by pushing businesses and professions in Nigeria to comply with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing rules.
“SCUML is exceptional owing to its performance as a regulatory body despite daunting challenges in tackling money laundering, terrorist financing and corruption,” Omose said.
He maintained that its enforcement of suspicious transaction reporting, risk assessments, and compliance checks showed the Unit was “changing the narrative.”
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He also called on the media to refocus on developmental reporting, saying watchdogs that show positive results should be encouraged rather than condemned.
But the most striking part of the event came from the anchor, journalist Tina Kenechukwu, who narrated her undercover experience with SCUML.
She claimed she had investigated the Unit to determine whether its processes could be compromised and found none.
“At no point did anybody ask for money. Even when we offered a token of recharge cards as appreciation, they said no. This is happening in Abuja, Nigeria,” she told the audience, insisting the unit’s credibility was intact.
Kenechukwu also shared a personal experience involving her husband, who registered his company with SCUML entirely online.
According to her, he completed the entire process from his computer, uploaded his documents, and received his certificate by email without stress.
“This shows these people are doing amazingly well,” she added.
In his response, SCUML Director, Deputy Commander of the EFCC, Harry Erin, who received the award on behalf of EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, expressed appreciation for the recognition and said the award reflected reforms within the unit.
He disclosed that SCUML had recently remodelled its registration portal to remove bottlenecks, streamline applications and speed up processing time.
“SCUML registration is free and can now be done seamlessly. The system processes an average of 600 applications daily across the country, and certificates are issued within 48 hours once documents are complete,” Erin said.
He insisted that document verification was now swift and supported by a hotlines desk deployed across the country to help applicants.
