The Director General

A national of Nigeria, Dr. Shehu was educated at the Ahmadu Bello University and the University of Abuja, Nigeria, for his B. Sc. and M. Sc. degrees in International Relations. He obtained a PhD in Criminology at the University of Hong Kong, specializing on anti-corruption and money laundering. Shehu is a member of the International Association of Financial Crimes Investigators (IAFCI); member of the Hong Kong Society of Criminology; and member of the Nigerian Society of International Affairs.

He was appointed Secretary of the Presidential Task Force on Financial Crimes in Nigeria in 1991; Assistant Director, Financial Crimes; Deputy Director/Head of Department of Financial Crimes in the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Drugs and Financial Crimes; Special Assistant to the Special Adviser to the Head of State on Economic Affairs, Drugs and Financial Crimes.

In these capacities, Dr. Shehu represented Nigeria at many bilateral and multilateral meetings and negotiations on Drugs and Financial Crimes Control, including the UN Ad-Hoc Committee on the Elaboration of the Transnational Organized Crime Convention. He led the Nigerian delegation to the UNODC/GPML regional Workshop in Grand Bassam, Cote d’Ivoire, which initiated the establishment of an Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA).

He has worked as expert/consultant on money laundering control in West Africa for the West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management (WAIFEM), and has provided training to money laundering compliance and law enforcement officers in the English Speaking West African countries.

He also worked as consultant to the International Development Law Organization (IDLO) on a number of projects/programmes, including contributing as a co-lead person at the International Expert Group Meeting (IEGM) on Anti-Corruption, which produced a Report containing concrete initiatives, projects and plans of action submitted to the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for onward submission to the international development assistance community; as well as facilitating a two-week IDLO training programme for Georgia and Nigeria on anti-corruption.

Dr. Shehu has demonstrated expertise in the area of anti-corruption and money laundering control during his tenure as Programme Expert (Anti-Corruption) at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) from 2003 to 2005. Under the UN Global Programme against Corruption, his main tasks included capacity building for anti-corruption policies and mechanisms, promoting integrity in public and private sectors, governance/public sector reform and money laundering, including asset recovery.

Upon return to Nigeria and before his assumption of duty as the Director General of GIABA, he has since January 2006, been the Director, EFCC Training and Research Institute, Abuja, Nigeria. Dr. Shehu has written and published extensively on corruption, governance and money laundering. His new book on “Economic and Financial Crimes in Nigeria: Policy Issues and Options” was presented to the public in Nigeria on 30 May 2006.