Nigeria has lost an estimated $40 billion to illicit financial flows between 2001 and 2010, according to the African Union.
This staggering amount represents nearly 20% of Africa’s annual losses of $150 billion to illegal outflows.
David Ugolor, Executive Director of the African Network for Economic and Environmental Justice (ANEEJ), said the loss explains Nigeria’s poor human development despite its vast resources.
“The figure underscores why the country continues to struggle with poor human development outcomes despite its immense resource wealth,” he said.
He spoke at the launch of a new project titled ‘Tackling Illicit Financial Flows through Asset Recovery and Management and Countering Money Laundering, Terrorism’.
*“We must strengthen the capacity of anti-corruption agencies to comply with the Crimes Act and its regulations,” Ugolor added.
Cybercrime Crackdown Sweeps Across Africa
While Nigeria battles financial leaks, INTERPOL has been busy dismantling digital crime networks across the continent.
Between June and August 2025, Operation Serengeti 2.0 led to the arrest of 1,209 suspected cybercriminals.
The operation recovered $97.4 million and dismantled 11,432 malicious online structures.
INTERPOL said the crackdown targeted ransomware, business email compromise (BEC), and online scams.
“The operation brought together investigators from 18 African countries and the United Kingdom to tackle high-impact cybercrimes,” the agency said.
Private sector partners like Kaspersky and TRM Labs provided intelligence on suspicious IPs, domains, and crypto fraud.
In Zambia alone, authorities busted a crypto investment scam that defrauded 65,000 victims of $300 million.
Angola shut down 25 illegal crypto mining centres run by Chinese nationals, seizing equipment worth $37 million.
Asset Recovery and the Fight for Transparency
Ugolor warned that without proper asset recovery, Nigeria risks losing even more.
He cited past recoveries like the $322.5 million Abacha loot in 2017 and the $311.8 million in 2020, which were earmarked for infrastructure and social programs.
But he also criticised the lack of transparency in managing repatriated funds.
“We must institutionalise best practices in asset recovery to ensure stolen funds, once recovered, are used effectively,” he said.
The United Nations and African Union estimate that Africa loses over $580 billion annually to illicit flows.
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