The call was made during the third annual High-Level Africa Civil Society Conference on Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism held in Abuja, Nigeria, and organised by Uganda’s Civic Advisory Hub.
The conference, held under the theme “Implementing Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendation 8 Correctly: Practices, Lessons Learned and Opportunities for Reform,” brought together government officials, regulators, financial intelligence units, civil society organisations, law enforcement agencies and international partners.
FATF Recommendation 8 requires countries to ensure that non-profit organisations are not abused for financing terrorism while ensuring that measures taken are proportionate and risk-based.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Civic Advisory Hub Executive Director and founder of the annual conference, Yona Wanjala, called for stronger cooperation between governments, regulators and civil society based on meaningful participation rather than mere consultation.
“Let us establish a more structured and intentional system for involving the non-profit sector in Financial Action Task Force processes, including National Risk Assessments and Mutual Evaluations,” Wanjala said.
He proposed reforms including the creation of a roster of non-profit sector specialists who can serve as assessors and technical advisers, as well as permanent dialogue platforms that include civil society participation.
Wanjala said such platforms would help ensure that anti-money laundering and counter-terror financing measures protect financial systems without undermining legitimate civil society activities.
“These are the commitments that will carry us from principle to practice,” he said.
The conference comes at a time when several African countries are strengthening their anti-money laundering and counter-terror financing frameworks while seeking to avoid or exit the Financial Action Task Force grey list.
Available estimates indicate that money laundering and illicit financial flows cost Africa about $88.6 billion annually, depriving governments of resources needed for infrastructure, healthcare and education.
However, participants raised concerns that some countries have applied FATF Recommendation 8 in ways that have negatively affected non-profit organisations, leading to increased regulatory burdens, financial exclusion and restrictions on civic space.
They said some organisations have struggled to access banking services as financial institutions increasingly adopt “de-risking” approaches by closing accounts or denying services to clients perceived as high risk.
Wanjala said governments can strengthen financial integrity while protecting civic freedoms by involving civil society in policy discussions.
“We can combat money laundering and terrorist financing while safeguarding civic space by bringing civil society voices and perspectives to the forefront of the conversation. Civic space must sit at the heart of all frameworks,” he said.
He argued that effective regulation should not interfere with the operations of legitimate non-profit organisations.
The Executive Chairman of Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, said compliance with international standards should not be viewed as the ultimate goal but as a means of building stronger institutions and public confidence.
“Compliance must translate into stronger institutions, more effective governance and greater public trust. It’s only when we achieve this that we shall move faster and make the progress needed,” Olukoyede said.
Edward Amanyire, an official from Uganda’s Financial Intelligence Authority, said Uganda had gained important lessons from the conference and was making progress in strengthening its anti-money laundering framework.
“As Uganda, we have also made progress by removing not-for-profit organisations from the list of reporting entities and the obligations that financial institutions have as far as money laundering is concerned,” Amanyire said.
The main conference was preceded by a peer-to-peer engagement involving representatives from national financial intelligence units and regulators of the non-profit sector at the headquarters of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit.
The session examined Nigeria’s experience as one of the few African countries to achieve a compliant rating under FATF Recommendation 8 and successfully exit the FATF grey list.
Ibrahim Ditse, head of Nigeria’s Counter-Terrorism Financing Department, shared lessons from the country’s journey, including the establishment of a quarterly dialogue platform led by the non-profit sector to strengthen trust and cooperation between regulators and civil society organisations.
The 2026 conference brought together representatives from African governments, FATF, regional bodies, civil society organisations, financial institutions, diplomatic missions, academia and international organisations to discuss locally driven solutions to financial crimes.
Participants emphasised that preventing financial crimes and maintaining a vibrant civic space should be viewed as complementary goals rather than competing interests.
The conference reinforced the position of Civic Advisory Hub that civil society should play a central role in shaping anti-money laundering and counter-terror financing policies while working alongside governments, regulators and financial institutions to protect communities and strengthen accountability.