Nigeria’s Jaiz Bank says it has become the first financial institution in Africa to join the International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation’s (IILM) network of primary dealers, after signing an agreement during a CBN–IILM liquidity management conference in Abuja.

The bank disclosed this in a statement by its management on Sunday.

The move gives the non-interest lender access to the IILM’s short-term, investment-grade sukuk, which Islamic banks use to manage liquidity in the absence of interest-bearing assets permitted in conventional finance.

Several central banks established the IILM to offer high-quality Shariah-compliant instruments, similar to Treasury bills, which are scarce in many jurisdictions.

Haruna Musa, the bank’s chief executive, said the development marked an important step for the bank. “This milestone is historic, as Jaiz Bank becomes the first financial institution in Africa to be admitted into the IILM’s global network of primary dealers,” he said.

He added that the arrangement would improve the bank’s internal buffers. “The onboarding positions Jaiz Bank to access world-class liquidity management instruments with strong credit quality,” he said.

Mr Musa noted that the agreement would “deepen the Bank’s balance sheet resilience and risk management capacity”.

He also said the partnership would raise the bank’s visibility within the sector. According to him, it would “enhance its regional and international visibility within the Islamic finance ecosystem” and “strengthen its long-term collaboration with the CBN, IILM, ICD, and other global Islamic finance institutions”.

Nigeria has expanded its Islamic finance market in recent years, with governments issuing sukuk to fund roads and other infrastructure. The IILM’s sukuk are already widely used in the Gulf and Southeast Asia, where Islamic finance is more established.

The IILM, backed by several central banks and multilateral bodies, issues short-term Shariah-compliant liquidity instruments recognised by regulators and used across multiple jurisdictions.