Modupe Gbadeyanka
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Mr Seyi Tinubu, the son of Nigeria’s President-elect, Mr Bola Tinubu, has been accused of purchasing a property in London, the United Kingdom, for about $11 million.
The mansion, located in North London, was reportedly bought by the 37-year-old son of the former Governor of Lagos State in 2017, and his father received President Muhammadu Buhari at the house in 2021.
According to Bloomberg, the three-floor property in St. John’s Wood has an eight-car driveway, two gardens, electric gates and a gym.
It was said that the house, which was being investigated for seizure by the Nigerian government because of its link with fraud proceeds by a Nigerian citizen, Mr Kola Aluko, was purchased by the younger Mr Tinubu through an offshore company, Aranda Overseas Corporation, which paid £9 million ($10.8 million) to Deutsche Bank for the mansion, which sits on a 7,000-square foot land.
The reputable journal described Mr Seyi Tinubu as the main shareholder of Aranda, which documents from the Pandora Papers leak of offshore companies data showed that the former Governor of Osun State, Mr Adegboyega Oyetola, who is also a relative of the President-elect, was on the board until 2010.
Bloomberg said the younger Mr Tinubu, according to documents filed this year in response to new anti-money laundering rules in the UK because it was registered on January 20 as an overseas entity in the UK, has been in control of British Virgin Islands-registered Aranda since June 2011.
The report said Mr Aluko is suspected of owning the property before it was allegedly acquired by Mr Seyi Tinubu, who is into advertising.
But Mr Aluko, who was accused of $1.6 billion fraud by the Nigerian government, denied all allegations of wrongdoing, as the spokespersons of the Tinubus did not respond to comments on the issue, while a British lawyer listed as Aranda’s agent in the UK refused to speak on the matter due to confidentiality rules.
Mr Tinubu was declared the winner of the presidential election held on Saturday, February 25, 2023, by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
His contenders have challenged his victory, Mr Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Mr Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP), at the presidential election tribunal.
They claimed that the election was flawed as INEC did not adhere strictly to the guidelines for the conduct of the exercise.
During the campaigns for the poll, Mr Tinubu was accused of several frauds, including forfeiting $460,000 to the United States to settle a lawsuit in Chicago over funds from proceeds of heroin trafficking in his bank accounts.
