The Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA Resource Centre) has petitioned the United States Government, calling for visa revocation, asset forfeiture, and global sanctions of Nigerians accused of diverting security and arms procurement funds.

In the petition signed by Chairman, Olanrewaju Suraju, the group urged the US Government to take action under Section 7031(c) of the US Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, as well as the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act.

According to Suraju, the diverted funds were earmarked for security and arms procurement. HEDA referenced the “Dasuki-gate” arms procurement scandal and other military procurement fraud cases, arguing that the failure to equip Nigerian troops with funds approved for arms acquisition enabled the expansion of insurgent groups such as Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).

It noted that domestic accountability efforts have been weakened by judicial technicalities, including the quashing or suspension of corruption trials on procedural and jurisdictional grounds. The petitioners said: “The organisation identified several individuals it alleged were linked to the diversion of security funds.