Nigeria House pushes to end ransom economy and demand President Tinubu’s appearance

The House of Representatives adopted a motion urging President Bola Tinubu to establish a coordinated inter‑agency framework to disrupt ransom financing, strengthen financial‑intelligence collaboration and audit suspicious point‑of‑sale transactions. Lawmakers cited estimates that Nigerians paid about ₦2.23 trillion in ransom between January 2021 and June 2025 and called for funding of advanced monitoring systems, tighter oversight of bureau de change operators, crypto platforms and other informal channels, and prosecution of those facilitating payments.

In the same plenary, a separate motion to summon President Tinubu over a circular that halted constituency‑project payments sparked a rowdy debate. Lawmakers highlighted delays in disbursing roughly N1.5 trillion of approved funds and urged the President to address budget implementation setbacks, linking the issue to broader security and economic concerns.