ABUJA — The ghost of a staggering $69 billion allegedly stashed in United States bank accounts by a former Nigerian official has returned to haunt the political landscape, sparking fresh demands for accountability as the 2027 election cycle begins.
Despite years of intelligence linking these funds to high-ranking individuals from previous administrations, not a single cent has been recovered. As Nigeria enters 2026, activists are citing this “monumental failure” as a primary reason for a change in leadership, contrasting the unrecovered trillions with the government’s ₦152 trillion debt profile.
The Texas Accounts
The $69 billion figure originated from investigations by an American asset recovery firm, Forensic Assets Investigation and Recovery Services (FAIR) LLC. According to the reports, approximately $9 billion was traced to a single Texas account linked to a late high-ranking official, while the remaining $60 billion is reportedly tied to illegal crude oil deals involving past officials of the NNPC and the CBN.
A Referendum on Corruption
Critics argue that the unrecovered fortune—a sum exceeding Nigeria’s entire annual budget—represents a lack of political will by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to hold its peers accountable.
“While the masses pay ₦2,500 for basic soup ingredients and live in ₦400/month slums like Makoko, billions that could fix our power and roads sit idle in foreign banks,” one critic noted. This sentiment is fueling the “Almajirization” narrative—a belief that the middle class is being intentionally liquidated into poverty.
Elite Excess vs. Public Pain
The scandal is being framed against a backdrop of “elite excess,” including the viral private jet video of Senator Adams Oshiomhole and the ₦3 billion spent on luxury SUVs for Sokoto LGA chairmen.
As of February 2026, the Federal Ministry of Justice has not provided a formal update on the status of these US-linked accounts, leaving the public to question if the 2027 “Patriotic Assignment” will prioritize the recovery of the nation’s “missing trillions.”
