Economic and Financial Crime Governance under ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb: An Islamic Framework for Nigeria

Economic and financial crime poses a major governance challenge in Nigeria, affecting public resources, institutional integrity, socioeconomic development, and public trust. Despite extensive legal and institutional arrangements, persistent weaknesses in prevention, internal controls, coordination, accountability, and asset recovery suggest that enforcement alone is insufficient. This study examines governance principles associated with the administration of ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb and critically assesses their relevance to contemporary Nigerian economic and financial crime governance. Employing a qualitative historical-doctrinal and comparative approach, it analyses the Islamic normative concepts of amānah (trust), ʿadl (justice), ḥifẓ al-māl (protection of wealth), masʾūliyyah (accountability), maṣlaḥah (public welfare), and ḥisbah (preventive supervision). The analysis locates the contemporary significance of ʿUmar’s administration in the reconstruction of transferable governance principles for application within a modern constitutional state. It identifies functional convergence between these principles and contemporary mechanisms of public financial management, procurement control, institutional supervision, financial intelligence, investigation, prosecution, and asset recovery. Building on this comparison, the study proposes an Islamic Economic and Financial Crime Governance Framework for Contemporary Nigeria (IEFCGF-Nigeria), integrating ethical leadership, prevention, supervision, detection, accountability, restitution, deterrence, and institutional learning. The framework contributes to Islamic governance scholarship by operationalising ḥifẓ al-māl as an institutional objective for safeguarding public resources. It provides a conceptual basis for adapting Islamic governance principles to Nigeria’s constitutionally plural setting and broadening economic and financial crime governance beyond enforcement.