At least 20 properties in the United Kingdom are connected to Bola Tinubu the president-elect of Nigeria who will take office on May 29, 2023 and his associates.
The majority of these assets were bought while Tinubu was the governor of Lagos State.
The election of many governors, including the current president, Muhammadu Buhari, was significantly influenced by Tinubu, who is well-known in Nigeria as a prominent political kingmaker.
Bloomberg reported on Tuesday that his son Oluwaseyi is the primary stakeholder of Aranda Overseas Corporation, an offshore business that purchased a contentious $10.8 million UK property in 2017.
Over a dozen properties linked to Tinubu have been discovered, mostly ones that he purchased while serving as governor of Lagos State from 1999 to 2007, according to Premium Times, an Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) Nigeria partner.
Tinubu’s spokesperson has not commented on these findings.
At the time one of the properties was purchased, Nigeria was attempting to seize a London house belonging to a Nigerian oil dealer facing corruption charges in Nigeria and the United States.
Steve Goodrich, head of research and investigations at Transparency International UK, said, “If there are reasonable grounds to suspect these assets were bought with criminal funds, then they should be investigated.”
He added that owning property through offshore companies is often done for the sake of secrecy.
The connection between Tinubu and various offshore companies has been revealed due to the Register of Overseas Entities, a new UK measure that uncovers the true owners of offshore firms holding property in the country.
Oladipo Eludoyin, a director of Aranda Overseas Corporation and founding director of Aranda Resources Limited, is linked to 17 UK properties through three offshore companies.
These properties were purchased between 2004 and 2007, while Tinubu was governor of Lagos State.
The same building’s Flat 10A was purchased by his son’s Aranda Overseas Corporation in 2011. The director of Aranda Overseas Corporation and Oladipo Eludoyin, a friend of Tinubu, signed the lease agreement.
Aranda Resources Limited, a Nigerian registered business whose shares are owned by Aranda Overseas Corporation, was founded by Eludoyin as well.
Babatunde Fashola, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and Adegboyega Oyetola are three Nigerian politicians with ties to Aranda Resources Limited and Aranda Overseas Corporation.
The publication claims that these politicians have not responded to inquiries for comment on the matter.
Ada Peter
