Tigran Gambaryan, a former Head of Financial Crime Compliance, has accused Nigeria’s National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, of demanding billions of naira to support his political ambitions. Gambaryan, a U.S. citizen, made these allegations in a post on X while recounting his ordeal in Nigeria.
Gambaryan was arrested in February 2024 following a crackdown on a cryptocurrency firm accused of manipulating the naira. The Nigerian government charged him with money laundering, and he remained in detention for months. However, the charges were later dropped.
While speaking about his experience, Gambaryan stated that his organization had a good working relationship with Nigerian law enforcement before greed got in the way. He alleged that Ribadu had pressured him for money but was unable to move forward with his demands after a corruption scandal was exposed.
“We had a strong working relationship with Nigerian law enforcement, but their greed destroyed all cooperation between Nigeria and the entire industry.
“They even threatened administrators at Nizamiya Hospital, instructing them not to admit me when I was extremely ill. Additionally, they pressured the hospital to withhold my medical records from my attorneys. This was later confirmed by the Turkish Ministry of Health when my friend met with their officials in Turkey.
“Ribadu emphasized that he wanted billions in payouts to fund his future political ambition. However, when the corruption scandal came to light, he was trapped—because any settlement would now be perceived as a bribe. I guess he really wanted his boss’s job 🙂
“Ribadu even hired a U.S. law firm to negotiate my release, but this failed due to their incompetence and greed.
“Ribadu overstepped his authority and embarrassed Nigeria in front of U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. Ribadu acting like an asshole angered the White House and led to diplomatic repercussions—the U.S. limited visas to the Nigerian delegation for UNGA, and Biden refused to meet with Tinubu until my situation was resolved.
“In the end, Ribadu overestimated his influence. They thought they could secure a quick win, but instead, they created an international incident, exposing his incompetence on a global scale.
“That’s it for me for now. I don’t want to dwell on this, but it’s important for Nigerians to get the facts. I met amazing people in Nigeria. It’s a shame that these muppets are in charge.”
They also detained innocent EFCC detectives who weren’t even present when Nadeem “escaped.” If anyone should have been detained, it was Belloji, for multiple basic law enforcement failures, incompetence, and negligence- including:
.Failing to search our belongings
.Not checking…— Tigran Gambaryan (@TigranGambaryan) February 14, 2025
