Looted Funds, Corruption, and the Roots of Religious Persecution in Nigeria: A Call for Real Accountability

BY REV. DAVID UGOLOR

In October 2025, the United States designated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) under the International Religious Freedom Act. The reason? The alarming rise in attacks against Christian communities, and the government’s failure to protect its citizens. For many Nigerians, this announcement felt like another international rebuke. But for those of us who have watched the steady decay of governance and accountability over the years, the designation is not merely about religion — it is about corruption.

Religious persecution in Nigeria does not exist in isolation. It thrives where corruption has hollowed out the state. It spreads when funds meant for schools, hospitals, and military equipment are stolen by political and military elites. It endures because stolen billions, hidden abroad, could have built security and peace at home. When public resources are diverted into private pockets, entire communities are left defenceless — and violence becomes inevitable.

The Hidden Cost of Corruption

Every time a politician embezzles public money, the consequences ripple far beyond bank accounts. In Nigeria’s conflict zones — Plateau, Kaduna, Benue, and Niger — the lack of military presence, equipment, and intelligence is not just an operational failure; it’s the direct outcome of corruption. The case of former National Security Adviser Sambo Dasuki, where billions of dollars meant for arms procurement vanished, remains a painful reminder that theft in government can cost lives.

It is no coincidence that regions most affected by religious violence are also the poorest and least governed. When citizens lose faith in justice and protection, extremist groups find easy recruits. Thus, corruption and religious persecution form two sides of the same coin — one breeds the other.

An Opportunity for Change

Recent developments in the United States offer Nigeria and its partners an opportunity to turn this grim situation into a framework for reform. The Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Rewards Act (H.R. 389) and the Counter-Kleptocracy Coordination Act, both passed by the U.S. Congress, have introduced powerful tools for tracing, freezing, and repatriating stolen assets.

Under these laws, individuals and organizations can provide information leading to the recovery of illicit assets held abroad. Civil society groups in Nigeria — including ANEEJ — can work with partners to ensure that Nigeria’s stolen billions hidden in U.S. and European financial systems are tracked and returned. The difference this time is that recovered assets should no longer vanish into another black hole of corruption. They must be transparently used to rebuild the very communities destroyed by the violence that corruption has financed.

Furthermore, the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act allows the U.S. government to impose visa bans and asset freezes on foreign officials involved in human rights abuses or corruption. Applying this to Nigeria could send a powerful message that those who steal from the public purse— and in doing so, fuel persecution and insecurity — will face consequences beyond their borders.

Connecting Corruption to Human Rights

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF)’s 2025 Asset Recovery Guidance has reinforced a truth we at ANEEJ have long championed: depriving criminals of their illicit gains is as critical as prosecuting them. Nigeria, now freshly delisted from the FATF Grey List, has a renewed obligation to show that its anti-corruption and asset recovery efforts are not just symbolic, but transformative.

By aligning FATF’s global standards with U.S. anti-kleptocracy legislation and Nigeria’s Proceeds of Crime (Recovery and Management) Act (POCA) 2022, we can institutionalize a system where recovered assets directly benefit victims of corruption — the displaced, the bereaved, the impoverished. This is how justice becomes tangible.

Charting a Path Forward

For Nigeria, this is a defining moment. We can either dismiss the CPC designation as foreign interference or embrace it as a wake-up call. What Nigeria needs is not another round of blame, but a renewed partnership between government, civil society, and international allies to tackle corruption at its roots.

At ANEEJ, we are calling for the creation of a joint Nigeria–U.S. asset recovery and accountability framework, focused on transparency and community reinvestment. Recovered assets should rebuild schools, hospitals, and places of worship destroyed in conflict. Civil society must play a central role in monitoring how these funds are used. The media must track every naira repatriated.

Finally, the Nigerian government must treat corruption as a national security threat — because it is. The cost of ignoring this connection is measured not just in lost money, but in lost lives.

Conclusion

The U.S. CPC designation is a mirror— reflecting the cracks in our governance and the urgency of reform. If Nigeria is to restore its moral and political integrity, it must go beyond rhetoric and demonstrate real accountability.

By tackling corruption, we don’t just recover stolen money— we recover our humanity, our security, and our hope.

At ANEEJ, we believe that fighting kleptocracy is not just an anti-corruption campaign; it is a peacebuilding mission. Because when looted wealth is returned and used to heal broken communities, justice— not violence— becomes the loudest voice in the land

• Rev. David Ugolor, Executive Director, Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ)