Nigeria’s Untouchables: Names, Money, the Reckoning Ahead
By Kio Amachree
Nigeria is approaching a reckoning it can no longer postpone.
For decades, a small northern elite network has exercised disproportionate control over political power, security institutions and national wealth — with near-total impunity. This concentration of power has not brought stability. It has produced insecurity, economic collapse and institutional decay.
What is extraordinary is not that abuses occurred, but that so few have ever been seriously investigated.
The Buhari Power Network
At the centre of this period stands Muhammadu Buhari, whose presidency was elected on an anti-corruption platform yet became synonymous, in the eyes of critics, with nepotism, selective justice and elite protection.
Between 2015 and 2023, Nigeria’s federal budgets exceeded an estimated $1.6 trillion, while security and defence spending officially surpassed $20 billion, excluding opaque “security votes” whose real totals remain unknown.
Despite this vast expenditure, insecurity worsened dramatically.
Mamman Daura — Nephew and Power Broker
Mamman Daura, Buhari’s nephew, held no elected office yet was widely reported by Nigerian and international media as the most influential unelected figure in the presidency.
Reported allegations and concerns include:
• Acting as a gatekeeper to presidential access
• Influence over appointments, security leadership and policy direction
• Exercising power outside constitutional accountability
During this period, appointments and decisions linked to the presidency controlled budgets worth tens of billions of dollars annually, yet no inquiry ever examined whether this influence translated into financial or political advantage.
No public inquiry.
No forensic audit.
No accountability.
Sabiu “Tunde” Yusuf — Private Secretary
Sabiu Yusuf, Buhari’s former personal secretary and a close relative by marriage to the Daura family, became one of the most powerful figures inside the Presidential Villa.
Widely reported allegations include:
• Exercising authority far beyond his official role
• Acting as an informal enforcer and gatekeeper
• Rapid lifestyle changes and alleged accumulation of wealth inconsistent with prior public earnings
This period coincided with multi-billion-dollar defence procurements, oil-sector decisions, and discretionary spending, none of which were subjected to independent forensic scrutiny of personal enrichment.
Again: no inquiry, no charges, no explanation.
Fatuhu Muhammad — Nephew in the Legislature
Fatuhu Muhammad, Buhari’s nephew, served in the House of Representatives.
Holding office is not a crime. But critics argue his rise exemplifies political privilege tied to bloodline rather than merit, during a period when the legislature approved federal expenditures exceeding $200 billion with minimal oversight of security outcomes.
Presidential In-Laws and Luxury Assets
Multiple Nigerian media outlets and civil society actors reported allegations that a presidential son-in-law imported or flew luxury sports cars into Nigeria, with individual vehicle values estimated between $250,000 and $500,000.
No customs investigation.
No asset verification.
No transparent denial supported by evidence.
Just silence.
Security Chiefs and the Insecurity Industry
Under Buhari, northern dominance of security leadership reached unprecedented levels, even as violence spiralled.
Frequently cited officials include:
• Abdulrahman Dambazau, criticised for presiding over deteriorating security while Nigeria spent an estimated $15–$20 billion on defence between 2015 and 2019
• Babagana Monguno, criticised for intelligence failures despite annual security allocations averaging $3–$4 billion
• Abdulrasheed Maina, convicted in absentia in a pension fraud case involving approximately $2 billion, after a controversial return to government systems
Billions were spent.
Insecurity worsened.
No elite consequences followed.
The Northern Elite Compact
This is not an ethnic indictment. It is a political one.
A self-protecting northern elite compact, dominated by Fulani power networks, has operated on the assumption that:
• Bloodline confers entitlement
• Security institutions provide immunity
• The state exists to be managed, not served
This mentality has produced:
• Banditry thriving alongside political silence
• Terror networks that outlast administrations
• A population increasingly convinced the republic has been captured
During the same period, Nigeria lost an estimated $400–$600 billion in potential economic growth, according to international development and security assessments.
What the Silence Really Cost Nigeria
The cost of impunity is not only financial.
Since 2015:
• Over 63,000 Nigerians have been killed by terrorism, banditry and communal violence
• More than 3.5 million Nigerians displaced internally
• Major farming belts abandoned, driving food inflation beyond 30%
• Foreign direct investment fell by over 60%
• The naira lost more than 80% of its value
This is not abstract governance failure.
It is lived national trauma.
The International Exposure
Nigeria’s vulnerabilities have not gone unnoticed.
During the presidency of Donald Trump, increased U.S. security pressure in West Africa exposed how fragile Nigeria’s internal control had become.
The lesson was unmistakable:
Nigeria’s greatest threat is not foreign aggression — it is internal elite failure.
Why This Ends Badly if It Continues
History offers a warning.
The Sani Abacha network once believed itself untouchable — until international asset tracing and legal pressure proved otherwise.
To date, $3–$5 billion in Abacha-linked assets have been recovered and repatriated.
If today’s elites believe they are immune, they are misreading the moment.
The anger is broader.
The scrutiny is international.
The patience is gone.
What happened to the Abachas may yet look mild compared with what awaits if accountability continues to be blocked.
Nigeria Must Act — Now
Nigeria cannot wait for humiliation.
Nigeria cannot wait for collapse.
Nigeria cannot wait for foreign intervention.
These individuals and networks must be investigated now:
• For abuse of office involving tens of billions of dollars
• For unexplained wealth
• For catastrophic security failures despite record spending
• For elite impunity that has hollowed out the state
This is not revenge.
It is survival.
A republic cannot endure as a feudal inheritance scheme.
And if those who benefited from this system refuse to dismantle it themselves, history — and law — will do it for them.
