Politics

• Experts raise questions about accounting system
• ‘Looting borrowed fund worsens crisis for future generation’
• Ajibola: Nigeria needs to copy China’s ruthless anti-corruption law

Several high-ranking figures associated with the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari are facing investigation and prosecution over alleged corruption estimated at about N3.47 trillion.

The magnitude of the accusations, emerging alongside the heavy debt burden inherited from the Buhari administration, has reignited arguments over accountability, selective enforcement, and the real cost of Buhari’s eight years in office.

At the heart of the controversy are former ministers and senior officials widely regarded as close allies of the late former president and prominent members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is currently probing Chris Ngige, a former Minister of Labour, over an alleged N2.2 billion fraud.

In November, the commission declared a former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, wanted in connection with an alleged N21.4 billion fraud. Sylva served directly under Buhari, who doubled as President and substantive Minister of Petroleum Resources.

Former Minister of Aviation and close political associate, Hadi Sirika, is also standing trial over an alleged N2.7 billion fraud linked to aviation-related projects.

The most sweeping allegations surround former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele, whose tenure coincided with expansive monetary interventions and unprecedented use of ways and means financing. The EFCC has accused Emefiele of arbitrarily allocating N3 trillion in foreign exchange, equivalent to $2 billion, without competitive bidding or due process, allegedly benefiting associates.

Investigators further allege that he operated 593 bank accounts across multiple countries, unlawfully acquired a 753-unit housing estate in Abuja, and illegally mismanaged more than N16 billion.

Court documents also show that between 2019 and 2022, Emefiele allegedly warehoused funds in proxy accounts linked to Kelvito Integrated Services—N167 million in 2019, N1.23 billion in 2020, N2.94 billion in 2021, and N1.98 billion in 2022—amounting to over N6.3 billion.

An additional N900 million was allegedly lodged in an Ifeadigo Integrated Services account. The EFCC further claims that a request for the payment of $6.2 million, equivalent to N8.8 billion, to foreign election observers was forged.

Beyond the financial sector, the EFCC is prosecuting former Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman, who has been ordered by a Federal High Court in Abuja to answer charges in a N33.8 billion money laundering trial. Similarly, the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, under former minister Sadiya Umar-Farouk, is accused of laundering N37 billion meant for social intervention programmes.

Taken together, the allegations involving Buhari-era officials amount to about N471 billion in direct naira terms. When the alleged $2 billion forex allocation is included, the total rises to roughly N3.47 trillion, underscoring the staggering scale of the cases confronting anti-graft investigators.

The timing of the prosecutions has intensified scrutiny of Buhari’s stewardship. In December 2015, Nigeria’s total debt stood at $65.42 billion. After a brief dip in 2016, the debt curve reversed sharply, rising throughout Buhari’s two terms. By 2019, total debt had climbed to $84.57 billion, increasing to $87.24 billion in 2020 and reaching $95.77 billion by June 2021, with domestic debt alone estimated at N35 trillion.

By the end of 2022, Nigeria’s debt portfolio had ballooned to N46.25 trillion. Estimates suggest that by May 29, 2023, Buhari handed over a total debt burden of about N77 trillion, a figure that continues to strain fiscal sustainability.

Analysts argue that the corruption allegations cannot be divorced from the debt narrative. While the government borrowed aggressively to fund infrastructure and stabilise the economy, critics contend that weak oversight, opaque monetary policies and politicised spending created fertile ground for abuse.

Supporters of the former administration, however, maintain that many of the EFCC’s actions are politically driven and aimed at recasting Buhari’s anti-corruption image.

As the EFCC pushes ahead, the unfolding court cases are expected to test not only the credibility of Nigeria’s anti-graft agencies but also the nation’s resolve to confront the structural failures that allowed corruption to coexist with unprecedented borrowing.

Academics and governance experts have raised renewed concerns about Nigeria’s public finance and accountability systems following reports of investigations into alleged corruption running into trillions of naira under the previous government.

A professor of economics at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Emmanuel Nwosu, said the scale of the alleged fraud points to deep flaws in the country’s accounting and auditing frameworks.

He argued that corruption in low-income countries such as Nigeria differs significantly from that in middle-income economies.

“The type of corruption we see in poor countries that have jumped to ostentatious consumption without industrialisation is different. If people can be charged with corruption to the tune of N3 trillion, something is fundamentally wrong with public sector accounting and auditing. If these systems worked as they should, nobody could steal one kobo from the government,” Nwosu said.

Nwosu also questioned the fiscal narrative surrounding fuel subsidy removal, noting that Nigerians still pay high petrol prices without clarity on how the purported savings are being deployed.

“If the subsidy was removed, where is the N16 billion daily subsidy money that Nigerians were told about?” he asked.

Governance and public finance expert Prof. Chiwuike Uba said the situation had not markedly improved under the current administration, lamenting that many high-profile probes rarely end in convictions.

He warned that allegations involving misappropriated borrowed funds have direct consequences for citizens.

“Much of this money was borrowed, which means citizens are already paying through higher taxes, inflation and declining public services,” Uba said, adding that repayments would continue to crowd out spending on health, education and infrastructure.

Uba observed that despite fiscal gains from fuel subsidy removal, higher tax receipts and foreign exchange inflows, borrowing by federal and state governments remains on the rise.

“For the average citizen, this contradiction shows up in worsening roads, poorly equipped hospitals and overcrowded schools. Corruption is not abstract. It is a daily tax on ordinary Nigerians. Until institutions are strong enough to make corruption difficult, costly and swiftly punishable, the cycle will persist,” he said.

Former president of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Prof. Segun Ajibola, said anti-corruption agencies must recalibrate their focus. While acknowledging the pervasiveness of corruption, he criticised what he described as misplaced enforcement priorities.

“Anti-corruption agencies should pay more attention to mega frauds rather than dissipating energy pursuing yahoo boys here and there,” Ajibola said.

He called for stricter anti-corruption laws and pointed to China’s zero-tolerance approach as a model for decisive reform.

Ajibola also expressed concern that individuals who once portrayed themselves as activists or public defenders often falter when entrusted with power.

“What we are seeing now is hardly different from previous administrations,” he said, noting that corruption remains especially tragic in a country burdened by widespread poverty.

A professor of management and accounting, Prof. Godwin Oyedokun, described the allegations against past administrations as “deeply troubling,” particularly given Nigeria’s dependence on borrowing to finance public spending.

He warned that persistent corruption scandals suggest systemic failure rather than isolated misconduct.

“When public funds sourced from loans are allegedly misappropriated, the burden falls on present and future generations,” Oyedokun said.

According to him, future Nigerians would repay the debts without enjoying commensurate development.

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Oyedokun argued that Nigeria’s anti-corruption drive is largely reactive and selective, often gaining traction only after officials exit office.

He said this weakens public confidence and reinforces the belief that accountability is political, not institutional.

Legal practitioner Ameh Madaki was more critical of the EFCC, accusing the agency of selective prosecution and describing many high-profile cases as “media trials” that eventually collapse.

“Nigerians are no longer excited by news of selective prosecutions. The perception, based on antecedents, is that such cases are meant to rattle suspects before quietly fading away. The few that continue are usually low-level cases with little value,” Madaki said.

Experts insist Nigeria must move beyond post-tenure probes to a preventive framework.

They advocate stronger public financial management systems, transparent procurement processes, real-time auditing of borrowed funds, and genuine independence for oversight and anti-corruption institutions.

The Guardian