President Tinubu Says ‘Criminal Adventurers’ Won’t Be Tolerated Anymore

President Bola Tinubu said "criminal adventurers" and their local collaborators are sabotaging Nigeria's economy and they won't be tolerated anymore.

At the opening ceremony of the second edition of the Africa Natural Resource And Energy Investment Summit in Abuja on Tuesday, Tinubu welcomed investors to conduct genuine business in Nigeria.

"Dear investors, we are determined to create conducive conditions for genuine businessmen. We welcome you and shall do everything possible to assist law-abiding businesses to operate in our country," the president said, PremiumTimes reported.

"However, we shall no longer tolerate criminal adventurers and their local collaborators who exploit our socio-economic environment to sabotage our nation in the guise of bringing business. Those caught will face the full wrath of our laws," he added.

George Akume, secretary to the government of the Federation of Nigeria, said the country is open for business and is willing to develop genuine partners, using its "god-given resources."

He said Nigeria wants genuine partners "who share the vision of equitable distribution of wealth produced in our country with our people," adding that the country is "ready to walk the talk of renewed hope with lovers of human development to achieve sustainable development goals of banishing poverty, disease and hunger from our fatherland."

President Tinubu pointed out that the solid minerals sector of Nigeria is strong as it plays a strategic role in economic growth by creating jobs and improving the government's revenue.

Petroleum is Nigeria's largest source of income. The president said the country could similarly develop the solid minerals sector too. However, he acknowledged certain challenges that investors might find overwhelming.

"The indiscriminate and illegal mining of richly endowed regions cheat our country of vast revenue; the threat of bandits oppressing villagers and exploiting the mines to raise money for the insurgency is a national emergency; the lack of comprehensive and certified data to guide investment financing starves the sector of critical funds," he added.

Nigeria is a hotspot for kidnappings and has seen an outbreak of cases in recent years – 3,620 people were abducted in the country from July 2022 to June 2023 alone. Aside from kidnappings, banditry is another issue the nation is facing, with armed bandits linked to several attacks against communities and security officials.