President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has urged West African leaders to classify resource theft, illegal mining, and mineral smuggling as international crimes, describing them as serious threats to the region’s peace, stability, and development.
The President made the call on Tuesday in Abuja, through the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, while declaring open the Annual General Meeting of the Network of National Anti-Corruption Institutions in West Africa (NACIWA).
Tinubu lamented that, despite decades of independence, the plundering of mineral resources and systemic corruption continue to hinder West Africa’s economic and political growth.
“I believe the time has come for us to designate resource theft, mining, and stealing of minerals in the region as an international crime that threatens regional stability and galvanise the world against threats from stolen minerals from West Africa,” Tinubu said.
He emphasized the need for collective regional action against criminal networks that profit from mineral smuggling, warning that such activities fuel insecurity and underdevelopment across the subregion.
Also speaking at the event, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), called on ECOWAS member states to domesticate the ECOWAS Protocol on Corruption to ensure that corrupt individuals and illicit funds find no safe haven within West Africa.
“Let us domesticate the ECOWAS Protocol on Corruption so that thieves find no hiding place,” Fagbemi said. “The child who says his mother will not sleep will also not sleep. So too, the corrupt who disturb the peace of nations must not find rest across borders.”
NACIWA, a regional anti-corruption body comprising ECOWAS member states, promotes cross-border cooperation in tackling corruption. The current president of the network is Ola Olukoyede, who also serves as the Chairman of Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
