Investigative Report Says Ex-NSA Boss Sambo Dasuki Had CIA Ties, Laundered Nigerian Funds Into U.S. Properties

An investigative report has uncovered how former Nigerian National Security Adviser Sambo Dasuki purchased a 127-acre horse farm in Aiken, South Carolina, under questionable circumstances. The report, UNCOVERED: Power and Polo, was recently published by The Post and Courier, a U.S. newspaper. It raises questions about the legitimacy of the funds used to acquire Green Hill Farms, which Dasuki purchased for $950,000 in 2002.

The report exposed that Dasuki had active ties to foreign intelligence agencies. Matthew Page, a former top U.S. intelligence expert on Nigeria and now an associate at Chatham House, said Dasuki was widely believed to have ties to the CIA.

“He was the person we could pick up the phone and call,” he said.

Dasuki’s purchase of Green Hill Farms, a 127-acre property in Aiken, South Carolina, was made entirely in cash without a mortgage, drawing suspicion over the sources of the funds. These concerns deepened after Dasuki’s involvement in the $2 billion Dasukigate scandal, which involved the misappropriation of arms funds in Nigeria. However, no known legal action has been taken against the property.

In 2015, Dasuki was arrested and accused of diverting $2.1 billion meant for weapons to fight Boko Haram. Investigations by the Platform to Protect Whistleblowers in Africa (PPLAAF) found that about $27 million from Nigeria’s missing defence funds had been traced to luxury real estate in the U.S.

AIKEN AND DASUKI’S HORSE FARM 

One of Dasuki’s most controversial assets remains the South Carolina farm, which his family still controls despite legal concerns. A 2007 letter from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, obtained by the Platform to Protect Whistleblowers in Africa, shows that officials had doubts about the “lawful source” of the funds used to buy the property.

The letter upheld the rejection of an immigrant investor visa application by Dasuki’s wife, Farida, who had attempted to use the farm as proof of investment. Dasuki had transferred the title to her after purchasing it in June 2002, years before becoming Nigeria’s National Security Adviser. At the time, he led Nigeria’s Security Printing and Minting Company (NSPMC). She claimed the funds for the purchase came from a $1 million lobbying contract her husband secured while heading NSPMC, but U.S. officials rejected this explanation.

“The record lacks evidence that the petitioner’s spouse has the type of experience in the oil and gas industry that would justify such a large consulting fee,” the letter stated.

An exclusive report by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) identified Quincy Sintim-Aboagye as the CEO of Texas-based Lushann International Energy Corporation, which allegedly hired Dasuki for lobbying efforts. However, Sintim-Aboagye denied paying him and said he did not have a million dollars to offer.

Investigators found that payments for the farm were wired to the seller’s agent from bank accounts held by firms in Hong Kong and the U.K., adding to suspicions about the legitimacy of the funds. Despite this, Dasuki’s family still controls the property, which now operates as an Airbnb rental and a wedding venue.

Dasuki’s alleged CIA ties mirror past claims about President Bola Tinubu. In the 1990s, Tinubu forfeited $460,000 to the U.S. government over suspected drug trafficking. A Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request by Aaron Greenspan of PlainSite and David Hundeyin, West Africa Weekly’s Editor-in-chief, later revealed that multiple U.S. intelligence agencies, including the CIA, IRS, FBI, and DEA, withheld information about Tinubu, citing national security risks. A CIA document stated that confirming or denying Tinubu’s cooperation with the agency could endanger intelligence sources. With similar allegations now surrounding Dasuki, concerns have grown over U.S. influence in Nigerian politics and security affairs.

DASUKI’S DEEP MONEY LAUNDERING 

A 2024 investigation by the Platform to Protect Whistleblowers in Africa, The Washington Post, and Premium Times also linked Dasuki to money laundering through luxury properties in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. Nigerian officials have urged the U.S. to recover these assets, but this has not been achieved.

Nigeria remains one of the most corruption-plagued nations. Transparency International’s 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index ranked it 140th out of 180 countries. Despite billions of naira allocated to poverty alleviation, over 65 per cent of Nigerians live in multidimensional poverty. These citizens perpetually suffer the impact of widespread corruption among top officials.

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Mayowa Durosinmi

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M. Durosinmi is a West Africa Weekly investigative reporter covering Politics, Human Rights, Health, and Security in West Africa and the Sahel Region

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