A joint investigation by the Platform to Protect Whistleblowers in Africa (PPLAAF) and the Anti-Corruption Data Collective (ACDC) has identified 284 properties across the United States, valued at nearly $271 million in total, that are connected to 61 current and former senior Nigerian officials, their families, close associates, and affiliated companies. The findings were presented in Abuja on Tuesday at the launch of the report, titled "Nigeria: Dirty Deeds — How Top Nigerian Officials Bought a Piece of America."
Properties Acquired During Tenure
As reported by Premium Times, the properties were acquired from 1991 onwards, and 152 of them, worth roughly $177 million, changed hands while the officials concerned were still serving in government. The investigation found that 230 of the 284 properties, representing about 81 per cent of the total and valued at around $232 million, were bought without any apparent financing.
The report flagged additional red flags, including the use of companies and intermediaries that could conceal true ownership. In 12 cases, Nigerian officials used US-registered entities that appeared linked to their Nigerian businesses to buy, hold, or sell properties.
Oversight Gaps and Named Officials
Investigators also found that some professionals involved in the transactions allegedly failed to verify identity documents or accepted deals conducted in the names of deceased individuals, raising concerns about oversight gaps in the American real estate market. The report said 39 of the 61 individuals examined have been publicly accused, indicted, or sentenced for corruption.
Among those named are former National Security Adviser Sambo Dasuki, former pension task force chairman Abdulrasheed Maina, former Abia State Governor Orji Kalu, former Aviation Minister Stella Oduah, former JAMB Registrar Dibu Ojerinde, and former NNPC Group Chief Operating Officer Ronald Ewubare.
Calls for Joint Investigation and Asset Recovery
PPLAAF Executive Director Jimmy Kande described the scale of the findings as unprecedented and called for joint action by Nigerian and American authorities. "At an unprecedented scale, these findings expose the failings of individual officials and the structural gaps that allow stolen public wealth to cross borders and settle quietly into foreign real estate," Kande said. "The purchases, transfers, and sales documented here could amount to international money laundering and must be investigated as such. Nigerian and American authorities must work together to ensure these assets are returned to the people they were taken from."
The report urged authorities to examine the sources of funds behind the identified transactions, strengthen cooperation between financial-crime and law-enforcement agencies, and establish mechanisms to recover and repatriate assets proven to have been acquired with stolen public funds.
Related Case: Alao-Akala Estate Dispute
Meanwhile, Legit.ng also reported that a legal battle over the estate of former Oyo governor Adebayo Alao-Akala exposed a vast portfolio of properties spread across Nigeria, the UK, the US, and Ghana. An Oyo State High Court restrained executors of the estate from selling or transacting on the assets pending the determination of the suit. The claimant sought DNA tests and court intervention to protect her legal and equitable interests in the estate.
