Abuja, FCT — Nigeria’s Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) has assigned case officers and begun investigating seven current and former public officials over alleged undeclared offshore assets and business interests revealed in the Pandora and Panama Papers.
The individuals are:
- former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi;
- former Senate President Bukola Saraki;
- former Senate President David Mark;
- former Aviation Minister Stella Oduah;
- former Bayelsa State Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, who is deceased;
- former Delta State Governor James Ibori; and,
- Stella Ogene, a retired Delta State judicial officer.
A source at the bureau told the newspaper that officials named in the Panama and Pandora Papers would be investigated.
It added that seven cases had been assigned to officers who had begun work.
An aide to the bureau’s chairman also confirmed that inquiries were underway.
The cases concern allegations that some public officials held offshore companies, assets or business interests while serving in public office without declaring them as required.
The bureau is also examining potential breaches of rules governing public officers’ private business interests and foreign bank accounts.
The reported investigations do not establish wrongdoing.
Offshore companies can be used for legitimate purposes, and the allegations will require examination of the relevant records and applicable rules.
Years of questions over the Panama Papers cases
The bureau’s action follows years of reporting by Premium Times.
The newspaper had partnered with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) on the Panama Papers and Pandora Papers investigations.
The Panama Papers, published in 2016, were based on leaked records from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca.
The Pandora Papers, published in 2021, drew on documents from offshore service providers in multiple jurisdictions.
Both projects examined how companies and other corporate structures were used to own assets and conduct business.
Premium Times said the CCB contacted it in October 2021 after the Pandora Papers investigation, acknowledging the project and requesting the newspaper’s cooperation.
The paper’s editor-in-chief, Musikilu Mojeed, agreed to assist.
After years without a public update, the newspaper wrote to the bureau in July 2026 to ask about the status of the inquiries.
In September, the CCB said relevant information and materials were under review under its constitutional and statutory mandate, and that any action would follow due process.
It also said it might invite a Premium Times representative to provide information or clarification.
The bureau declined to provide details that could affect ongoing or planned investigations, citing the confidential nature of investigative and verification processes.
What the reporting found
The Pandora and Panama Papers reporting found that Obi remained a director of NEXT International (UK) Limited, a British company, for 14 months after becoming Anambra governor in 2006.
It also reported that certain offshore holdings and a foreign bank account had not been declared.
Obi said he did not know that assets jointly owned with others were required to be declared.
He has denied diverting public funds. Premium Times noted that its reporting did not accuse him of diverting public money.
The reporting on Oduah, who served as aviation minister from 2011 to 2014 and later became a senator, identified her as the ultimate beneficial owner of an offshore company.
Through the company, four London properties worth a combined £6.7 million were acquired between 2012 and 2013.
The newspaper also reported that she retained a directorship in the company while serving as a public officer.
In the case of Ogene, documents examined by Premium Times showed that she established a Seychelles-registered company in 2009 to acquire a London property.
The report also found that Nigerian corporate records listed her as a director of a private company for a decade.
Meanwhile, she headed the Delta State Customary Court of Appeal.
Panama Papers links
The Panama Papers reporting linked Saraki and his wife, Toyin Saraki, to offshore companies and assets.
Premium Times said its investigation identified at least four assets held through offshore structures that had not been disclosed to the CCB.
Among the entities it examined was Sandon Development Limited, registered in Seychelles and used to acquire a London property in 2012.
The reporting also linked David Mark to at least eight companies registered in the British Virgin Islands while he was in public office.
The newspaper said it could not establish the nature of the businesses conducted through those companies.
The Panama Papers also documented offshore companies linked to Alamieyeseigha, who governed Bayelsa from 1999 until his impeachment in 2005.
Premium Times reported that a company in the British Virgin Islands was incorporated months after he became governor, and that documents named him as its first director and secretary.
The investigation traced overseas properties and foreign accounts associated with him.
British authorities returned more than £5 million recovered from funds stolen by the former governor to Bayelsa State in 2012.
Premium Times’ reporting identified James Ibori among the officials connected to the investigations.
The CCB has not publicly detailed the evidence it is examining in his case.
What happens next
Nigeria’s Code of Conduct rules require public officers to declare their assets, including those of their spouses and children under 18.
The rules also restrict public officers from participating in private business while in office.
Restrictions are subject to specified exceptions and prohibit covered officials from maintaining or operating foreign bank accounts.
The bureau’s inquiries will need to determine whether the evidence supports allegations of non-disclosure or other violations.
It will take into account each official’s circumstances and the law applicable at the time.
The CCB can refer cases for proceedings before the Code of Conduct Tribunal where it finds grounds to do so.
For now, the bureau has confirmed that investigations have commenced but has not announced a timetable, disclosed its findings or said whether any case will proceed to the tribunal.
The next public developments are likely to depend on the investigations’ progress and any decision by the bureau to take further action.
