The family of Sambo Dasuki, Nigeria’s former national security adviser, has been denied a US visa due to links to a property purchased with questionable funds in South Carolina. Dasuki, who was indicted in 2015 for misappropriating billions of dollars intended for the fight against Boko Haram, allegedly bought the 127-acre horse farm in 2002 using suspicious funds.
According to an investigation by the Platform to Protect Whistleblowers in Africa (PPLAAF), Dasuki’s wife, Farida, attempted to obtain an American investor visa using the farm as proof of investment. However, her visa application was rejected by the US government due to serious concerns about the source of the funds.
The investigation revealed that approximately $27 million from the misappropriated funds were traced to luxury real estate purchases in the US, including the South Carolina horse farm. Dasuki’s associates still own several of these properties, and his family retains ownership of the South Carolina farm.
The case highlights the implications of financial crimes and corruption in Nigeria, where over 65% of the population lives in multidimensional poverty despite billions of naira budgeted for poverty alleviation programs. Jimmy Kande, PPLAAF’s Western Africa director, emphasized that “corruption contributes to insecurity” and that “terrorist groups have thrived in the Sahel partly because of the diversion of funds meant for national security.”
