…Says Illicit Mining Fuels Insecurity, Arms Smuggling Across West Africa
President Bola Tinubu has called on African and global leaders to recognise the theft and illegal trade of mineral resources from the continent as an international crime, warning that such illicit activities threaten regional peace, stability, and development.
Tinubu made the call on Tuesday while declaring open the Annual General Meeting of the Network of National Anti-Corruption Institutions in West Africa (NACIWA) at the ECOWAS Secretariat, Abuja.
Represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, the President said it was time the world treated mineral resource theft with the same seriousness as other cross-border crimes, such as terrorism and human trafficking.
“Stealing of mineral resources is on the rise in our region, fuelling the proliferation of small arms and light weapons, and other violent crimes such as kidnapping and banditry,” Tinubu said.
“The time has come for us to designate resource theft, mining and smuggling of minerals as an international crime that threatens regional stability.”
The President decried the growing trend of illegal mining and mineral smuggling across West Africa — particularly in resource-rich nations such as Nigeria, Ghana, Mali and Burkina Faso — which he said had deprived governments of vital revenue and sustained cycles of poverty and insecurity.
Reports by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) indicate that billions of dollars worth of minerals are lost annually to unregulated export and smuggling across the subregion.
Tinubu linked the proceeds from such thefts to the worsening insecurity across Nigeria and its neighbours, noting that corruption and illicit financial flows had continued to undermine decades of economic progress.
The President also reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to asset tracing and recovery, adding that recovered funds would be channelled into social inclusion programmes.
He disclosed that N100 billion recovered from corruption cases had already been injected into the Student Loan Scheme and the Consumer Credit Programme, both designed to improve access to education and reduce financial pressure on citizens.
Tinubu further praised the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) under its Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, for what he described as its “prolific record” in asset recovery.
“We will continue to ensure that recovered assets serve as instruments of social justice and inclusion,” he added.
Also speaking, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), urged ECOWAS member states to domesticate the regional Protocol on Corruption, saying this would ensure that corrupt officials find no safe haven within the subregion.
“Let us domesticate the ECOWAS Protocol so that thieves find no hiding place,” Fagbemi said.
“The corrupt who disturb the peace of nations must not find rest across borders.”
He proposed the creation of an ECOWAS Regional Task Force on Asset Recovery, to be coordinated by NACIWA, for better collaboration among member states.
Earlier, EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede, who also serves as NACIWA President, stressed that the fight against corruption must be pursued alongside efforts to strengthen political stability and social justice in West Africa.
“Our anti-corruption struggle cannot be separated from the broader context of governance, political transitions, and institutional integrity,” Olukoyede stated.
Illegal mining has long been linked to violent conflicts in parts of Nigeria, especially Zamfara, Sokoto, Kebbi, and some states in the North-East, where criminal groups control gold and mineral-rich territories.
Security analysts say the proceeds from these activities continue to fund banditry, kidnapping, and arms smuggling across porous borders.
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