A new investigative report has linked 61 current and former Nigerian officials and their associates to 284 properties in the United States valued at about N370 billion ($271 million).
The report, titled “Dirty Deeds: How Top Nigerian Officials Bought A Piece Of America,” was launched in Abuja by the Platform to Protect Whistleblowers in Africa (PPLAAF), in partnership with Premium Times, Step Up Nigeria, the Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA) and the Anti-Corruption Data Collective (ACDC).
According to the report, the properties were acquired between 1999 and the present administration, allegedly using illicit funds.
Speaking at the launch, PPLAAF Executive Director, Jimmy Kande, said the investigation was intended to help Nigerian authorities identify assets and funds allegedly moved abroad and facilitate their possible recovery.
PPLAAF Director of Investigations, Sonia Rolley, said the investigation relied on official records, court documents, information on the affected politically exposed persons (PEPs), their relatives and associates, as well as companies linked to them.
The report noted that some of those identified had been convicted of corruption-related offences, while others had been accused or were facing pending cases.
It categorised the individuals into security personnel, members of the executive and legislative arms of government, former state governors, officials of state-owned enterprises and other politically exposed persons.
According to the report, state governments accounted for 14 PEPs, followed by security personnel with 12, the executive with 11, the legislature with 10 and state-owned enterprises with three.
The report said the 12 security-related PEPs were linked to 82 properties valued at $93 million, allegedly acquired through family members, associates and other intermediaries.
It further highlighted the case of a former National Security Adviser who allegedly acquired a 127-acre horse farm in South Carolina for almost $1 million in cash.
The investigation also identified properties allegedly acquired by members of a former president’s family, including the former leader’s children and daughter-in-law. It said 10 properties linked to the family were acquired over a 26-year period.
The report further stated that 39 individuals connected to $238 million in property acquisitions had either been accused, indicted or convicted in corruption-related cases.
It also identified 147 properties worth $111 million allegedly acquired by senior officials and their spouses, either in their own names or through legal entities registered to them.
The investigators described the United States as a destination for illicit funds, particularly through its real estate sector, and raised concerns about regulatory gaps that could allow suspicious transactions to take place.
PPLAAF, founded in 2017, works across Africa to strengthen whistleblower protection, support public-interest disclosures and promote accountability and good governance