11 corruption cases that shocked Nigerians in 2016

President Muhammadu Buhari, while campaigning, promised among many other things, to rid the country of corruption and expose financial atrocities in government.

In a statement that seemed to warn crooked politicians, during his inauguration speech on May 29, 2015, Buhari said “…I bear no ill will against anyone on past events. Nobody should fear anything from me. We are not after anyone. People should only fear the consequences of their actions.”

True to his word, the man sent by God, in the words of Fr. Ejike Mbaka, armed with his customised APC broom, embarked on a thorough cleansing of many government ‘rooms’.

The startling revelations and mind boggling sums of money either discovered or reportedly stolen has left most Nigerians in shock.

Here are some of the corruption stories that made headlines in 2016, in no particular order.

1. Diezani Alison Madueke:

In what could arguably be the mother of all headlines, the former minister of petroleum constantly graced Pulse Nigeria’s frontpage with heavy captions, bearing the weight of the whopping sums of money she and her associates allegedly stole.

Some Nigerians who could not stomach the amount of money which she reportedly stole, even called her a Jezebel.

ALSO READ:Diezani is the ‘untouchable Jezebel’ that massacred Nigeria’s oil money

The former minister of petroleum was alleged to have looted over $20b, which was part of the proceeds from Nigeria’s main income generator, crude oil.

2.Patrick Akpobolokemi:

The former boss of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) also made his mark as one of the most reported former government officials who stole money.

Akpobolokemi reportedly looted over N12b from NIMASA, using various companies to perfect his trade or practice if you like.

ALSO READ:N12.9bn fraud - how Police bundled ex-NIMASA boss into awaiting bus outside court (Watch)

3. Sambo Dasuki:

The news that funds meant for the purchase of arms for the Army to prosecute the war against Boko Haram was allegedly misappropriated, was heart rending, because of the number of soldiers that died as a result of poor military equipment.

The former National Security Adviser (NSA) was said to have diverted and supervised the disbursement of over $2.1b to various individuals and also sponsor GEJ’s second term bid.

ALSO READ:‘Dasuki couldn’t have stolen $2bn,’ GEJ

4. Olisa Metuh:

The former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) spokesman could not find his voice anymore, after it was revealed that he allegedly got N400m from the Dasuki loot.

Metuh, according to reports said the money was given to him by ex-President Goodluck Jonathan as payment for a job he did.

5. Musiliu Obanikoro:

Reports have it that the former minister of state for defence ate part of Dasuki’s forbidden fruit.

Obanikoro reportedly got N4.7b which he claimed to have shared amongst some individuals notably, the Governor of Ekiti state, Ayo Fayose and serving Senator, Iyiola Omisore.

The former minister has also returned over N100m to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as part of his plea deal.

ALSO READ: Obanikoro reportedly says Fayose got $5.377M cash

6. Alhaji Abdullahi Dikko:

This civil servant reportedly ‘dikkoed’ N40b from the coffers of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).

News of his arrest by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was another shocker.

The former NCS boss however returned N1b to the Federal Government and is on bail.

ALSO READ:EFCC arrests former customs boss, Dikko over N40bn fraud

7. Alex Badeh:

Hmmmmm! The former Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) bought a N320m house for his 28 year-old son and another N260m for his first son in the highbrow area of Wuse in Abuja.

The houses are just part of the many properties Badeh used the over N800m which he siphoned from the military coffers, to purchase.

The former CDS also used his church mind to ‘forfeit’ $1m to the Federal Government so it doesn’t look like he is too greedy.

ALSO READ:Badeh bought N320m house for his 28 year old son – Witness

8. Femi Fani-Kayode:

The former minister of aviation was arraigned in court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) alongside a former minister of state for finance, Senator Nenadi Usman over an alleged N1.5b fraud.

The anti-graft agency later filed a fresh charge against FFK bordering on another fraud amounting to N4.7b.

ALSO READ:EFCC files charges against Fani-Kayode over alleged N4.9b fraud

The former minister, who was the spokesman of the Goodluck Jonathan campaign organisation, allegedly collected money from Dasuki for GEJ’s re-election bid.

9. Patience Jonathan:

Nigerians really agreed that ‘there is God oh’ when news emerged that the former first lady claimed ownership of five Skye Bank accounts with billions of Naira in them.

She even went to court to order the EFCC to un-freeze the bank accounts, adding that it was a violation of her fundamental human rights. Seriously?

ALSO READ: Patience Jonathan says $31.4m frozen by EFCC belongs to her

On further investigation, it was also discovered that Mrs. Jonathan had several properties worth billions of Naira in choice locations across Nigeria.

10. Raymond Dokpesi:

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) also picked up the Chairman of Africa Independent Television (AIT) for partaking in Dasuki’s juicy loot.

According to reports, N2.1b was paid to Dokpesi by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on the orders of the former National Security Adviser (NSA).

ALSO READ:EFCC arrests Dokpesi for allegedly collecting N2.1bn from looted arms funds

11. Supreme Court Judges:

This year will not forgive anyone who refuses to mention the massive outcry that followed the mid-night raid carried out by the Department of State Services (DSS) on the homes of some alleged corrupt judges.

Some of the senior judicial officers were accused of fraud and professional misconduct.

Also, several sums of money in different foreign currencies were reportedly recovered from the homes of the judges.

It has been an eventful 2016, and Nigerians are looking forward to seeing the Federal Government actually convict someone for stealing government money.

Enough of the media trials and mentioning of mind boggling sums of money.

Please EFCC jail somebody!