At least 110 Nigerian individuals and companies have so far been identified in the leaked internal data of Panamanian law firm, Mossack Fonsecca, as operators of offshore shell companies in tax havens.
Prominent among the names revealed last week, in addition to the several that were published in the past one month, are the founder of Globacom, Mike Adenuga; Niger State Governor, Abubakar Sadiq Sani Bello and the late Ooni of Ife, Okunade Sijuwade, among others.
Senate President Bukola Saraki, his predecessor, David Mark, Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, Arik Air Chairman, Joseph Arumemi-Johnson and his wife, Mary, as well as two serving senators – Andy Uba (Anambra) and Ibrahim Gobir (Sokoto), among several others have also been linked to the infamous tax haven scandal popularly dubbed Panama Papers.
The name of a former chief executive of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Mallam Bello Ibrahim Gwandu has also surfaced on the list.
Gwandu, who served as Managing Director of NPA from August 1999 to September 2001 was linked to two companies, according to the leaked documents. The companies are Shannon Limited and Warams Services Limited – both registered in British Virgin Islands.
By the time he was removed from office by former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2001, Gwandu had reportedly approved contracts worth more than N3billion.
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