Nigerian President, Bola Tinubu, has directed security agencies in the country, including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the Nigeria Customs Service, the Nigeria Police Force, and the Nigerian Ports Authority to intensify their efforts in cracking down on individuals in possession of, and trafficking in stolen vehicles.

The president, who gave the directives on Sunday, said Nigeria was not a dumping ground for stolen foreign goods as well as a transit point for illicit drugs.

Tinubu said he was worried by the activities of transnational organised criminal groups in Nigeria, and tasked security and maritime agencies to intensify efforts to combat cybercriminals and transnational car thieves operating within the country.

Tinubu made the remarks following the recent handover of 53 vehicles and $180,300 by the EFCC to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, on behalf of two Canadian citizens who were victims of cybercrimes perpetrated by Nigerian nationals.

In a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, titled ‘President Tinubu orders crackdown on cyber criminals, transnational car thieves’ the President commended the commission for collaborating with partners to ensure a coordinated and professional repose to this menace.

“Nigeria is not a destination for stolen vehicles and a haven for illicit wealth from foreign countries,” the statement noted.

“The President further directs all relevant agencies, particularly the anti-corruption agencies, to protect Nigeria’s economic and financial integrity from organised crime infiltration.

“He also demands that the value of seized and confiscated moveable assets be preserved for the state, society, and victims in line with existing legislation and international conventions.

“President Tinubu expressed concern over the involvement of transnational organised criminal groups in exporting stolen vehicles to Nigeria, noting that one of the most effective tools available to law enforcement agencies is depriving criminals of the proceeds from their illicit activities.

“He promised that Nigeria will continue to work with its international partners to ensure that cyber criminals and organised crime groups involved in transnational car thefts are deprived of the benefits of their illegal activities, while affirming that his administration remains committed to tackling money laundering, cybercrime, and other financial crimes.”

Managers of a Guinean chimpanzee research institute have confirmed that residents invaded the facility after a lady claimed one of the animals killed her infant.

The centre’s operators reported an irate crowd destroyed and burned drones, computers, and over 200 papers. Eyewitnesses stated the mob was reacting to the news that a mangled newborn was found 3 km (1.9 miles) near the UNESCO World Heritage Site Nimba Mountains Nature Reserve.

A mother, Seny Zogba who spoke with journalists, claimed that a chimpanzee crept up from behind, bit her, and pulled her infant into the forest while she was working in a cassava field.

Local biologist Alidjiou Sylla claimed the reserve’s food shortage was forcing animals to leave more often, increasing the risk of assaults.

The research centre reported six chimpanzee attacks on humans in the reserve this year. The greatest population of the severely endangered western chimpanzee, thought to have decreased by 80% between 1990 and 2014, is in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.

Guinea’s Bossou woodland, part of the Nimba Mountains Nature Reserve and near Nzerekore Region subsistence farmers, has only seven left.

Guinean chimpanzees are respected and given food, therefore some leave the protected area and attack humans. Environmentalists worry about chimpanzees’ impact from mining Guinea’s greatest iron ore reserve in the Nimba Mountains.