Posted by Chinenye on Wed 23rd Sep, 2026 - tori.ng
A court in Abuja will decide which group has the legal right to train and give certificates to people who investigate financial crimes.
(High Court. Photo by TheCable)
A federal court in Abuja will make a decision on November 24 about which organization has the right to train and certify people who work in forensic accounting.
Forensic accounting is when accountants investigate financial crimes.
The Chartered Institute of Forensics and Certified Fraud Investigators of Nigeria filed a case in court.
They are challenging the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, also called ICAN, saying ICAN does not have the authority to train people in forensics.
CIFCFIN says that under the law that created their organization, only they have the power to train and certify forensic professionals in Nigeria.
They say ICAN is breaking the law by offering a seven-day training program that gives people a certificate called the Certified Forensic Accountant of Nigeria, or CFAN.
ICAN was inviting chartered accountants, bank workers, auditors, investment analysts and staff from anti-corruption agencies to register for the seven-day program to get the CFAN certificate.
CIFCFIN says ICAN's actions are outside what the law allows ICAN to do.
They say it causes confusion because people do not know which organization should be giving out these certificates.
CIFCFIN is asking the court to cancel all the CFAN certificates that ICAN has given out.
They also want the court to tell ICAN to stop advertising and offering this certificate.
They want the court to order ICAN to permanently stop issuing the CFAN certificate.
The case will be heard on November 24 when both organizations will present their arguments to the judge.