I Warned Nigerians About Gilbert Chagoury, Now Where Are The Billions Of Dollars?
For months, on almost a weekly basis, I have been warning Nigerians about Gilbert Chagoury, the Lebanese businessman with a history of money-laundering proceedings connected to the Abacha regime, and his unhealthy grip on Aso Rock and Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
... Tinubu, Chagoury, Seyi Tinubu, David Umahi and Wike must be investigated
By Kio Amachree
For months, on almost a weekly basis, I have been warning Nigerians about Gilbert Chagoury, the Lebanese businessman with a history of money-laundering proceedings connected to the Abacha regime, and his unhealthy grip on Aso Rock and Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
I warned Nigerians repeatedly about the billions of dollars in contracts being handed to companies associated with this man, his extraordinary influence over Tinubu, and what I believe is one of the most outrageous examples of political patronage in Nigerian history.
And Nigerians did absolutely nothing.
I wrote repeatedly about the $13 billion Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway, awarded to Hitech Construction, a company belonging to the Chagoury business empire, without an open public tender.
Thirteen billion dollars!
And what makes this even more outrageous is that Seyi Tinubu, the president’s publicity-loving son, has had business connections with the Chagoury family.
In August 2024, the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project revealed that Seyi Tinubu and Ronald Chagoury Jr., the son of Gilbert Chagoury’s brother, had jointly owned an offshore company in the British Virgin Islands.
Seyi was also reported to be a director of CDK Integrated Industries, another Chagoury company.
So here we have the president awarding a multibillion-dollar project to the business empire of his longtime associate, while his own son has documented business connections with the same family.
How Can Any Reasonable Nigerian Look At This Arrangement And Not Demand An Investigation?
And the Lagos–Calabar highway is not the only project.
Consider the other enormous contracts and concessions involving companies associated with the Chagoury empire under Tinubu’s administration.
The Contracts And The Money
1. Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway — estimated $13 billion.
The approximately 700-kilometre highway was awarded to Hitech Construction without an open public bidding process. The estimated figure concerns the wider project and does not mean that $13 billion has already been paid.
2. Apapa and Tin Can Island Port Rehabilitation — approximately £746 million, or around $1 billion.
The financing arrangements announced in 2026 involve British export-credit support and companies including ITB Nigeria, associated with the Chagoury business group.
This is another enormous Nigerian infrastructure undertaking involving companies linked to the same family.
3. Sokoto–Badagry Superhighway — contracts valued in hundreds of billions of naira.
Hitech has been associated with sections of this massive road project. One reported contract package in Kebbi State was valued at approximately ₦199 billion, although the exact value and scope of every Hitech award must be distinguished from the cost of the entire superhighway.
4. Further Lagos–Calabar and related highway sections — additional contractual commitments.
In May 2026, the Federal Ministry of Works announced agreements with Hitech and another contractor covering sections of the Lagos–Calabar, Sokoto–Badagry and other federal highway projects.
The precise amounts attributable to Hitech require disclosure.
5. Snake Island Port — reported investment and concession arrangements approaching $1 billion.
This is another port development that has been discussed in connection with companies and commercial interests associated with the Chagoury network. The actual contractual ownership, investment commitments and any federal award must be independently established.
6. Eko Atlantic — a multibillion-dollar private development built on land reclaimed from the Atlantic Ocean.
The Chagoury Group has long been associated with this enormous Lagos development. It predates Tinubu’s presidency, so it cannot properly be described as a fresh presidential contract, but it illustrates the longstanding commercial relationship between the Chagoury business empire and the Lagos political establishment.
And these are only the arrangements I have been able to identify publicly.
How Many Billions More Are Involved In Agreements That Nigerians Have Never Seen?
I also raised concerns about Tinubu’s visits to Paris and the enormous port and infrastructure agreements being announced abroad.
In September 2026, Tinubu witnessed the signing of agreements exceeding $7 billion for the proposed Ogun State Gateway Deep Sea Port and Blue Marine Special Economic Zone.
The publicly identified partner was DP World, not Chagoury, and these were proposed investment arrangements rather than proof that the Nigerian government had paid out $7 billion.
Nevertheless, I want every agreement signed abroad in Nigeria’s name examined, including the ownership structures, public guarantees and political connections.
I have had enough of presidents travelling to foreign capitals and announcing billions of dollars in arrangements while the Nigerian people remain ignorant of the financial obligations being created.
Now let us return to Gilbert Chagoury.
In 2000, Chagoury was convicted in Geneva in connection with money laundering involving funds associated with the Abacha regime. He was fined one million Swiss francs. That conviction was subsequently expunged.
In 2021, the United States Department of Justice announced that he had paid $1.8 million to resolve an investigation into illegal foreign political campaign contributions.
American authorities described approximately $180,000 in unlawful contributions involving four federal political candidates.
This is the man whose business empire continues to benefit from enormous Nigerian government contracts.
I have also seen allegations concerning financing of Hezbollah and other activities. Such allegations require independent evidence and must not be confused with established convictions.
But surely the documented history alone should be enough to demand the strictest scrutiny of his relationships with public officials.
What Exactly Does A Businessman Have To Do Before Nigerian Authorities Begin Asking Serious Questions?
Then there is the question of Chagoury’s Nigerian citizenship.
Chagoury was born in Nigeria to Lebanese parents. He is not automatically a Nigerian citizen by birth under the present Constitution merely because he was born on Nigerian soil.
I have questioned the basis on which he obtained Nigerian citizenship, reportedly during the Abacha years.
Section 28 Of The Nigerian Constitution Is Very Clear About The Restrictions On Additional Nationalities Held By Citizens Who Are Not Nigerians By Birth
A naturalised Nigerian may forfeit Nigerian citizenship if he acquires or retains another nationality that he does not hold by birth.Chagoury has been reported to possess several citizenships.
I want to know which he holds by birth, which he acquired subsequently and whether his Nigerian citizenship complies with the Constitution.
I petitioned the Director-General of the Nigerian Immigration Service to investigate this matter.
My Petition Was Ignored. Why?
Does Chagoury’s relationship with powerful Nigerian politicians now place him beyond the reach of the country’s immigration laws?
I also spent approximately two hours discussing my concerns with Britain’s Serious Fraud Office.
Two hours of my time presenting information about what I believed warranted investigation into corruption, possible money laundering and other financial misconduct.
And what happened?
As far as I was informed, nothing meaningful. I questioned whether British commercial interests in Nigeria, including the enormous Lagos port financing arrangements, were influencing the willingness of British authorities to examine these relationships.
Britain lectures Nigeria about corruption while British financial institutions and companies stand to benefit from major Nigerian infrastructure deals.
Is Business Now More Important Than Accountability?
The same questions apply to France.
Chagoury has powerful business and political connections in Paris. I have long questioned his relationship with influential French circles and the extraordinary welcome Tinubu receives whenever he travels there.
I have heard accounts of Chagoury boasting about his influence over Nigeria. I cannot independently establish those accounts, but his documented commercial access to successive Nigerian governments makes the underlying question of political influence impossible to ignore.
I have warned Nigerians repeatedly that enormous contracts can become instruments for extracting public wealth when there is no transparency, no competitive procurement and no meaningful oversight.
I have also questioned why qualified Nigerian professionals do not appear to enjoy the same opportunities for senior positions in parts of the Chagoury business empire. I want the employment records examined and Nigerian participation made transparent.
For raising these issues, I have been threatened with a lawsuit.
I Told Them To Sue Me
I would welcome the opportunity to place the evidence before a court and seek disclosure of the relevant documents through lawful proceedings.
I was attacked in Nigerian newspapers, including Punch and Vanguard, by people defending Chagoury.
I was called a racist. I was threatened.
My life was threatened.
And all because I dared to question a politically connected businessman and his relationship with the Nigerian presidency.
I am Not Interested In Chagoury 's Race. . I AM INTERESTED IN HIS CONDUCT, HIS CONTRACTS, HIS POLITICAL CONNECTIONS AND THE MONEY.
Now we come to David Umahi, the arrogant Minister of Works who seems to believe that insulting journalists and talking down to Nigerians is an acceptable substitute for accountability.
I warned that the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway was surrounded by unanswered questions.
I warned about the costs.
I warned about the procurement.
I warned about the relationship between Tinubu and the contractor.
And now the government is explaining changes to the road’s route and specifications, including the difference between the ten-lane highway originally discussed and six-lane sections.
Umahi insists that the original project has not been cancelled.
Very well.
THEN WHERE ARE THE ORIGINAL CONTRACTS, DAVID UMAHI?
Where are the revised contracts?
Where are the payment records?
Where are the engineering assessments?
How much has been spent?
How much remains to be spent?
And why was this enormous project awarded without an open public tender?
I am not claiming that the entire $13 billion has disappeared. The available evidence does not establish that.
But I am saying that the Nigerian people are entitled to a complete forensic accounting of every dollar and every naira committed to this project.
THIRTEEN BILLION DOLLARS IS NOT POCKET CHANGE.
It is money that could transform hospitals, schools, electricity supplies, public transport and the lives of millions of Nigerians.
And yet we have a government that seems incapable of giving the public a simple, comprehensive and independently verifiable account of the project.
I fear that Nigeria will eventually be left with unfinished roads, enormous debts, disputed contracts and contractors who have already protected their commercial interests.
That is the danger I have been warning about.
And I am warning Nigerians again.
EVERY OTHER MULTIBILLION-DOLLAR CONTRACT INVOLVING THIS BUSINESS NETWORK MUST BE AUDITED BEFORE MORE PUBLIC MONEY IS COMMITTED.
I am now calling for an immediate independent investigation into Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Gilbert Chagoury, Seyi Tinubu and David Umahi.
And yes, add that power-drunk politician Nyesom Wike to the list of powerful officials whose use of public resources and political authority deserves rigorous scrutiny.
Where credible evidence establishes criminal wrongdoing and the legal grounds for arrest exist, I want arrests and prosecutions.
I want investigators to examine the relationship between the Tinubu family and the Chagoury family.
I want the contracts examined.
I want the offshore companies examined.
I want the citizenship records examined.
I want the financing arrangements examined.
I want every conflict of interest exposed.
And I want the EFCC, ICPC, National Assembly and relevant international authorities to stop pretending that politically connected billionaires and government officials are untouchable.
TINUBU MUST BE INVESTIGATED NOW, NOT TOMORROW.
I have spent months warning Nigerians about what I believe is the systematic capture of the Nigerian state by political and commercial interests.
I have written the articles.
I have named the names.
I have contacted the authorities.
I have faced the threats.
And I have watched the contracts keep coming.
What disgusts me most is not merely the conduct of the powerful.
It is the willingness of so many Nigerians to look the other way, to applaud, to defend and to grovel before the very people whose actions deserve investigation.
Some Nigerians will sell their dignity for an invitation, an appointment, a contract or a handful of dollars.
And then, when the consequences arrive, they begin to cry.
I WARNED YOU.
Nigeria cannot continue to be governed as the private business of Bola Tinubu, his family, his political associates and their wealthy friends.
If our institutions cannot investigate a sitting president, his son, his ministers and the businessmen receiving enormous public contracts, then Nigerians must seriously question whether the present political system is capable of protecting the republic.
We cannot continue with a system in which the politically connected prosper while the ordinary Nigerian is condemned to poverty, insecurity and despair.
PUBLISH THE CONTRACTS.
FOLLOW THE BILLIONS.
INVESTIGATE CHAGOURY’S CITIZENSHIP.
EXAMINE THE TINUBU FAMILY’S BUSINESS CONNECTIONS.
AUDIT EVERY CONTRACT AND PROSECUTE EVERY PROVEN CRIME.
I have said it before, and I will say it again.
NIGERIA IS NOT THE PRIVATE PROPERTY OF TINUBU OR GILBERT CHAGOURY.
And if our institutions cannot defend the Nigerian people against corruption and the abuse of political power, then we must seriously reconsider the future of the Nigerian federation itself.
Kio Amachree
Letters from Stockholm
Verified sources for the contract figures:
The strongest documents supporting the amounts in the post are:
* $13 billion coastal highway: OCCRP’s investigation and Bloomberg’s reporting identify Hitech, the estimated project cost and the lack of open public bidding.
* £746 million Lagos ports deal: The British government’s March 2026 announcement identifies Hitech and ITB as construction companies, while its later project disclosure names them as a joint venture. The announced financing is approximately $900 million–$1 billion, depending on the exchange rate used.
* Approximately $1.24 billion Sokoto–Badagry section: Reporting identifies a ₦1.7 trillion Kebbi section awarded to Hitech. This is stronger evidence for the amount than the smaller ₦199 billion figure mentioned in the article.
* More than $1 billion Snake Island investment programme: MSC confirms ITB and DEME as construction contractors, but the billion-dollar figure describes MSC’s wider Nigerian investment programme, not a verified payment to ITB.
* More than $7 billion Ogun State project: Government and DP World documents identify DP World as the proposed investment
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