A new investigation has identified hundreds of properties in the United States connected to current and former Nigerian political figures, their relatives, associates and companies, with the holdings collectively valued at almost $271 million.
The investigation, conducted by the Platform to Protect Whistleblowers in Africa (PPLAAF) in collaboration with the Anti-Corruption Data Collective (ACDC), examined 284 properties associated with 61 Nigerian politically exposed persons and related individuals or entities.
The findings were contained in a report titled “Dirty Deeds: How Top Nigerian Officials Bought a Piece of America,” which was presented in Abuja on September 22, 2026.
According to the investigators, the properties were acquired over several decades, with some purchases dating back to 1991. The report examined not only the identities of the people linked to the properties but also the timing, financing arrangements and ownership structures surrounding the assets.
Obasanjo family properties
The family of former President Olusegun Obasanjo featured prominently in one of the report’s case studies.
PPLAAF said it traced about $9 million worth of US property to members of the former president’s immediate family. The investigation identified 11 properties that it said could be sufficiently corroborated using independent records.
The researchers also found several other properties associated with people bearing the Obasanjo surname, although they said some of those links could not be independently confirmed to the same standard.
The properties linked to the family were spread across several US states, including New York, Illinois, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, Massachusetts, Texas and Virginia.
The report said some ownership connections were established through property records, corporate registrations, recurring addresses, mortgage documents, signatures and documented family relationships.
No property was identified as being directly owned by Obasanjo himself, according to the investigation.
The former president’s family was not immediately available for comment on the findings.
Orji Kalu linked to more than $20m in properties
Former Abia State governor and serving Senator Orji Kalu was also included in the wider investigation.
PPLAAF said its research identified US properties valued at more than $20 million that were linked to Kalu and members of his family across four states.
The organisation further reported that almost $5 million was spent on properties during an 18-month period after Kalu left office, at a time when he was facing an indictment by Nigerian authorities.
The properties reportedly include residential buildings, condominiums, agricultural land and a commercial property formerly associated with a restaurant.
Kalu was among the 61 people examined by the investigation, but inclusion in the report does not by itself establish that any property was purchased with proceeds of corruption.
Other former officials named
The investigation also examined property holdings connected to several former governors, ministers, military officers and other senior public officials.
Former Enugu State governor Chimaroke Nnamani was linked to at least nine properties in Florida and Virginia through relatives and associated companies.
The report also examined properties connected to former Anambra governors Chris Ngige and Willie Obiano.
For Obiano, investigators identified at least nine properties, mainly in Texas, connected to him and members of his immediate family. The acquisitions covered a period stretching from 2005 to 2024.
Former Interior Minister Abdulrahman Dambazau was also linked to Massachusetts properties purchased between 2013 and 2023.
Other names in the report included former Aviation Minister Stella Oduah, former JAMB registrar Lawrence Ojerinde and former pension reform task force chairman Abdulrasheed Maina.
Military figures also featured
The investigation examined property networks associated with former National Security Adviser Sambo Dasuki and former Chief of Defence Staff Alex Badeh.
Dasuki’s family was linked to a South Carolina property reportedly purchased for close to $1 million without a mortgage.
The report also identified a broader network of properties associated with individuals connected to Dasuki, including holdings in California and the Washington, DC area.
Badeh, who died in 2018, was linked to several US properties acquired during and after his period in public service.
Both men had faced corruption-related allegations in Nigeria, which they denied or contested during their respective legal proceedings.
Cash purchases raise questions
One of the broader findings of the investigation concerns how the properties were financed.
PPLAAF said 230 of the 284 properties—about 81 per cent—were purchased without apparent financing. Those properties were collectively valued at approximately $232 million.
The report also identified 104 properties worth about $180 million that were allegedly acquired, held or sold through US-registered companies apparently connected to Nigerian officials, their families or associated businesses.
Another 147 properties, valued at approximately $111 million, were reportedly registered in the names of officials, their spouses or legal entities connected to them.
Investigators call for closer US-Nigeria cooperation
The investigators said the findings could assist authorities in tracing assets where there is sufficient legal evidence that properties were acquired with proceeds of corruption.
PPLAAF and ACDC said their methodology involved cross-checking US property records, corporate registries, Nigerian government records and publicly available information. They said properties were assessed individually and required multiple independent links before being included in the database.
The report called for stronger cooperation between Nigerian and US authorities in investigating suspicious assets and pursuing recovery where the law permits.
Overall, the investigation provides a picture of the scale and complexity of US property holdings associated with Nigerian political and economic elites. However, the presence of a person’s name, family member or company in the database is not, on its own, proof that the property was acquired through illicit funds or that the individual committed a crime.
