About
Umar Yakubu specializes in the area of data science, the criminal justice system, financial crimes and national security.
He has been involved in policymaking related to the legal and institutional framework of anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) in Nigeria by serving on the Presidential Committee on Financial Action Task Force (PCFATF). He also worked on the technical committee that addressed FATF's strategic deficiencies, which got Nigeria delisted as a country of 'high-risk' by FATF in 2013.
At the national level, he has been a member of the National Risk Assessment Secretariat on Money laundering and Terrorism Financing; and one of eight (8) members that developed the National Anti-Corruption Strategy to be implemented by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation from 2017-2021.
At the international level, he has consulted and researched for the Intergovernmental Action Group against Money Laundering (GIABA), United Nations Office on Drugs & Crime (UNODC) and the European Union (EU).
At the Sixty-Seventh (67th) United Nations General Assembly, he worked on the Sixth Committee (Legal Committee) to assess Nigeria's implementation of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) measures and other global and regional Instruments to combat corruption.
Umar has received training on policy and strategies aimed at reducing financial crimes by attending over fifty courses in Nigeria and abroad, some of which include Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), Nigeria; Nigeria Police College, Nigeria; Royal Canadian Metropolitan Police (RCMP), Canada, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), United States, United Nations Office on Drugs & Crime (UNODC); and The Central Office for the fight against crime related to information and communications technology (OCLCTIC), French Police.
His core areas of expertise are policy formulation around corporate governance, criminal justice, anti-money laundering, combatting the financing of terrorism, anti-corruption, counter-fraud and national security.
He has delivered papers and conducted capacity development programmes for judicial officers, civil servants, organized private sector, non-organized private sector, students and civil society organizations. He is currently driving a national programme to establish the first Central Criminal Justice Information System (CCJIS). He also developed the pioneer Transparency & Integrity Index 2021- an assessment of all federal and state institutions' compliance with international and domestic laws, policies on Open Governance; Budget Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability; Human Resources; Public Procurement and Civil Engagement.
He has obtained degrees and certificates from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria; Nassarawa State University; University of Chester, University of Leicester and the University of Portsmouth in the UK; the University of Leiden in the Netherlands; and SDG Academy & Harvard Business School in the US. He is currently on a PhD programme on Defence & Security at the Nigerian Defence Academy.
He is a member of the Nigerian Economic Society (NES), Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM), Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS), Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) and Centre for Counter Fraud Studies (CCFS), UK. He is a Board Member of the United Nations Convention against Corruption Coalition representing Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Seat 1; and a Director of the Compliance Institute of Nigeria.
His primary interests include promoting good governance and social justice and using ICT as a solution provider. Also, he has a keen interest in global economics, philosophy, innovation and a wide range of sports.
As an ardent reader and writer of several articles and opinions in major newspapers in Nigeria on good governance, he is penning down his thoughts in a book titled "Public Sector Corruption in Nigeria: Causes, Consequences and Reform", due for publishing in 2024.
He is the Chief Executive Officer of Counter Fraud Center LLC (www.counterfraudcenter.org )and the Executive Director of a civil society organization, the Center for Fiscal Transparency & Integrity Watch (www.fiscaltransparency.org)