By Ogochukwu Isioma
The Chartered Institute of Forensics and Certified Fraud Investigators of Nigeria (CIFCFIN) said former President Muhammadu Buhari, who died in a London hospital on Sunday, July 13, 2025, was a man whose integrity and commitment to accountability left an indelible mark on Nigeria’s forensic and fraud investigation landscape.
In a statement signed by the Institute’s Founder and Chairman, Governing Council, Dr. Iliyasu Gashinbaki stated that the former president was the “Grandpa of Forensics in Nigeria, a title he earned not just by his words but by his decisive actions.
“We join the family, the people of Katsina State, the nation and the entire African anti-corruption community in celebrating the life of the former president.”
He recalled that on 22nd May, 2022, during a historic courtesy visit by the Governing Council of the Institute to the State House, when the former president was conferred with the Institute’s Global Integrity and Anti-Corruption Award of Excellence; the highest honour of the Institute strictly reserved for only African Heads of State, he (Buhari) pledged to support the establishment of CIFCFIN.
“True to his reputation as a man of unwavering integrity, on 23rd December 2022, he granted Presidential Assent to the Chartered Institute of Forensics and Certified Fraud Investigators of Nigeria (Establishment) Act, 2022, a landmark legislation that stands as the most consequential advancement in forensic and fraud investigation since the Audit Ordinance of 1956.”
According to the CIFCFIN boss as at today, the Institute is the only forensic professional body chartered by statute with a multidisciplinary and multisectoral mandate to advance and promote the practice of forensics and fraud investigations in Nigeria.
Its powers and functions include; establishment of forensic laboratory for analysis, professional trainings, supervision and regulation of the practice of Forensics and Fraud Investigation in Nigeria.
He extolled Buhari’s foresight in signing the Act which revolutionized Nigeria’s capacity to combat fraud, cybercrime, economic crimes and financial malfeasance through cutting-edge forensic science and professional fraud examination.
“In recognition of his exceptional contributions, the Governing Council of CIFCFIN inducted him into the Institute’s Hall of Fame during the 2024 Founders’ Day Celebration, cementing his legacy as a pillar of accountability and ethical leadership.”
Gashinbaki maintained that Buhari’s unwavering belief in the power of forensic science to strengthen transparency and justice in Nigeria has left an enduring legacy adding that his passing is not just a loss to Nigeria but to the entire global anti-corruption community
