Exclusive: Abacha’s Pointman And Nigeria’s Minister Atiku Bagudu’s Quiet Owned Texas Property Raises Fresh Questions Under Nigeria’s Asset Declaration Rules

Secrets Reporters

While Abubakar Atiku Bagudu directs Nigeria’s national budget and economic planning from Abuja, public records in Texas list him as the owner of a modest 1966 brick ranch at 2124 York Drive in Fort Worth’s Edgecliff West Addition. The 1,486-square-foot, three-bedroom, two-bath single-story home sits on a 0.13-acre lot and is recorded as owner-occupied, with the mailing address matching the property itself.

Ownership length stands at roughly three years and eight months. U.S. listing data place the May 2022 sale in the $250,001–$285,000 range after an asking price of $289,500; current market estimates hover near $266,500.

Two small FHA mortgages with Planet Home Lending LLC, each around $20,000, were recorded in March and October 2024, following an earlier larger FHA loan near $276,000 in 2022. The 2025 tax bill reached $6,101 on an assessed value of $314,399, reflecting a steep rise from the 2022 assessment of about $138,896 amid broader Tarrant County value growth.

Bagudu, born 26 December 1961, has served as Minister of Budget and Economic Planning since August 2023. He previously governed Kebbi State from 2015 to 2023 and represented Kebbi Central in the Senate from 2009 to 2015.

International reporting, including the Pandora Papers and U.S. Department of Justice actions tied to Abacha-era funds, has long scrutinized his financial history; settlements returned hundreds of millions of dollars to Nigeria, and Bagudu has consistently denied wrongdoing, with counsel pointing to a 2003 agreement.

Under the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), Fifth Schedule, Part I, Paragraph 11, every public officer must submit a written declaration of all properties, assets and liabilities, including those of unmarried children under eighteen, to the Code of Conduct Bureau within three months of taking office, at the end of every four years, and at the end of the term. Any statement found false constitutes a breach.

Assets acquired after a declaration that cannot be fairly attributed to income, gift or loan approved by the Code are presumed acquired in breach unless the contrary is proved. The Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act reinforces these obligations and empowers the Bureau to verify, investigate and, where appropriate, pursue forfeiture. Foreign real estate falls squarely within the definition of assets that must be disclosed. The presence of this Texas property, acquired while Bagudu held high office and refinanced during his current ministerial tenure, therefore invites ordinary public scrutiny of whether the holding appears in successive CCB declarations and whether its funding and timing align with the constitutional presumption rules.