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President Bola Tinubu has urged the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to declare resource theft, particularly illegal mining and mineral smuggling, as international crimes, stating that these acts pose a grave threat to the subregion’s peace, stability, and economic prosperity.
Naija News reports that Tinubu made the call on Tuesday in Abuja, through the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, while declaring open the 7th Annual General Meeting of the Network of National Anti-Corruption Institutions in West Africa.
The meeting, themed “A United ECOWAS Against Corruption: Strengthening Regional Collaboration for Asset Recovery and Exchange of Information,” brought together heads of anti-corruption agencies, ECOWAS officials, development partners, and civil society representatives.
Tinubu lamented that despite decades of reforms, illicit financial flows and resource theft continue to undermine regional development.
While calling for urgent collective action, Tinubu emphasised that resource theft should be classified as an international crime.
He said, “Even now, illicit outflows remain an odious miasma. Stealing of mineral resources is on the rise in the region, fueling the proliferation of small arms and light weapons and other violent crimes such as kidnapping and banditry. These have exacerbated our security challenges and worsened the development outlook of the region.
“The time has come for ECOWAS to designate resource theft, illegal mining and stealing of minerals as an international crime that threatens the stability of the region, and galvanize the world against trade in stolen minerals from West Africa.
“No country can single-handedly win the battle against illicit flows. It requires collaboration, and NACIWA offers ECOWAS a multi-state and multi-stakeholder platform to harness regional efforts against corruption and its manifestations.”
According to Tinubu, his administration has prioritised asset tracing and recovery, backed by a new legal framework for asset management.
He further explained that his administration ensures that recovered assets are channelled into productive use.
He stressed, “The vision has translated into the recovery of humongous sums by the anti-corruption agencies. One of the agencies, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, under the leadership of Ola Olukoyede, who incidentally is the current President of NACIWA, has been prolific in recovering stolen assets.
“Our commitment is to ensure that recovered stolen assets become enablers of growth and instruments for social inclusion. Two legacy programmes of my administration the Students Loan Scheme and the Consumer Credit Scheme commenced operation with the injection of N100 billion in recovered proceeds of crime by the EFCC.”
Also speaking at the event, the Executive Chairman of EFCC, Ola Olukoyede, expressed gratitude to delegates and reaffirmed NACIWA’s role as a unifying platform for regional anti-corruption collaboration.
He highlighted the network’s achievements since assuming office in 2022, noting that despite challenges, the current executive committee has repositioned NACIWA into a “more dynamic and credible platform for regional collaboration.”
He said, “We must acknowledge the evolving landscape in which our institutions operate. Political transitions, security concerns, and governance challenges across member states underscore that our fight against corruption cannot be divorced from broader considerations of political stability and social justice,” Olukoyede stated. He urged members to use the Assembly as “a renewal of vision, leadership, and unwavering commitment to combating corruption, which remains a key obstacle to our region’s development and stability.”
In his special remarks, Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, lauded the EFCC Chairman’s leadership, describing it as “distinguished and exemplary.”
He said, “Let me commend the leadership of EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede, who, as NACIWA President, has strengthened the Network not only in integrity but also in transparency and accountability.”
Similarly, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Anti-Corruption and Financial Crimes, Senator Emmanuel Udende, said the event’s theme was timely, given corruption’s role in insecurity and poor governance. “Its trans-border nature demands we go beyond national efforts to embrace strong regional cooperation, intelligence sharing, and joint asset recovery,” he said, pledging the legislature’s support in providing the necessary legal framework for international cooperation.
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