NIGERIA’S President Bola Tinubu is grappling with mounting media criticism following the appointment of a new budget minister, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, who has been accused of playing a role in assisting former dictator Sani Abacha in looting billions from the country.
Bagudu, who previously served as a state governor and senator, was confirmed as a minister in President Tinubu’s government recently, despite allegations that he played an ‘instrumental role’ in Abacha’s plundering of Nigeria between 1993 and 1998, according to the United States Department of Justice (DOJ).
Tinubu, who himself was forced into exile during Abacha’s regime, assumed the presidency earlier this year after a disputed election in which he pledged to rid Nigeria of the ‘menace’ of corruption. However, Bagudu’s alleged involvement in the corruption of the Abacha era has stirred controversy.
In a complaint dating back to 2013, the DOJ accused Abacha, Bagudu, and other associates of systematically embezzling billions of dollars in public funds from Nigeria during the 1990s, channelling the ill-gotten gains through a network of offshore companies.
Over the past decade, the DOJ, citing its jurisdiction over the US banking system used in alleged illegal transfers, has pursued the seizure of offshore assets held in
trust for Bagudu and his family through the Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative. Nigeria, however, has been reticent in cooperating, citing a 20-year-old agreement reached with Bagudu.
Following Abacha’s death in 1998, Nigeria opted for a strategy of negotiation with his family and associates to recover stolen funds. In 2003, Nigeria reached a settlement with Bagudu, who relinquished hundreds of millions of dollars without admitting guilt, leading to the dropping of criminal charges and civil claims against him.
Bagudu’s offshore financial dealings were also exposed in the 2021 Pandora Papers investigation. The report revealed his association with Farrer & Co., an elite London law firm used by the British royal family. Media partners, including Nigeria’s Premium Times and the Guardian, detailed how Farrer & Co. assisted Bagudu and his brother, Ibrahim Bagudu, in transferring 98 million euros (about $120 million at the time) from an offshore trust in the British Virgin Islands to a complex trust structure known as the Blue Group, registered in Singapore and the Cook Islands.
Farrer & Co. enlisted the services of Singaporean trust company Asiaciti Trust Group Ltd. to administer the Blue Group, enhancing the secrecy and control over Bagudu’s hidden assets. Despite the substantial reputational risks, Farrer & Co. and Asiaciti accepted Bagudu as a client.
In response to revelations in the Pandora Papers, Farrer & Co. asserted that it had conducted ‘extensive due diligence’ on Bagudu. Both the law firm and Bagudu’s lawyer denied any attempts to conceal assets in the trust structure, asserting th
at asset details had been disclosed to relevant authorities.
Bagudu’s appointment has raised serious concerns about President Tinubu’s commitment to combating corruption. Activists and pundits have openly criticised the decision, highlighting Bagudu’s questionable past.
Tinubu, who assumed office earlier this year amid allegations of corruption and questions about his wealth sources, has faced his own share of controversy. Separately, the DOJ alleged that accounts in Tinubu’s name received money from heroin sales in the late 1980s. Although not charged, he was required to forfeit $460,000 from his US bank account to US authorities.
More recently, a partner at a Lagos-based consulting firm, which secured a significant revenue collection contract from the Lagos government during Tinubu’s tenure as governor, claimed in a civil suit that the president had a hidden interest in the firm through proxies. The suit, initially filed in Lagos and later settled, alleged the company’s involvement in ‘massive corruption purposes, including tax evasion, bribery of government officials, and fund diversion.’
Systemic corruption continues to plague Nigeria’s economy, underscored by recent charges brought by UK police against former Nigerian oil minister Diezani Alison-Madueke for allegedly accepting bribes in exchange for multimillion-dollar gas and oil contracts.
According to the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, the country accounts for approximately 30 percent of the estimated $50-60bn lost annually to illicit financial flows in Africa.
(with ICIJ)
