Facebook posts circulating in Nigeria claim that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) raided a New York residence belonging to former Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari and discovered $5 billion in cash and $700 million in gold.
The FBI is a U.S. government agency responsible for tackling crimes such as terrorism, corruption, and human trafficking.
One of the posts reads: “Breaking News: $5 Billion in Cash and $700 Million in Gold Found in Buhari’s New York Residence as FBI Raids Property; Trump Orders Clampdown on Nigerian Politicians’ Homes. Trump has ordered the money to be placed on hold as he doesn’t trust the current president of Nigeria, who he said is worse than Buhari.”
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The claim can also be found here, here and here.
Muhammadu Buhari served as Nigeria’s military head of state from 1983 to 1985. He returned to power as a civilian president in 2015 after winning the presidential election with promises to combat corruption and improve security. His presidency ended on May 29, 2023.
Buhari made headlines on January 27, 2025, a day before the claim about the FBI raid started circulating. During a meeting with leaders of his political party, the All Progressives Congress, he stated that he did not illegally enrich himself while in office and is now living off rental income from his two houses in Kaduna, located in north-west Nigeria.
But did the FBI raid Buhari’s New York house, and did they find $5 billion in cash and $700 million worth of gold? We checked.
No evidence of the claim
In 2024, we debunked a claim about the FBI allegedly discovering $6 billion in cash at a house in London owned by Nigerian government minister Nyesom Wike.
In that fact-check, we pointed out that $6 billion would be equivalent to 60 million $100 bills, which is nearly 10 times the size of the largest cash seizure on record, which was $650 million seized by U.S. forces in Iraq in 2003.
In this case, the claim involves 50 million $100 bills, which would be more than seven times the size of the Iraq seizure.
It is highly unlikely that such a significant discovery by the FBI, involving a former Nigerian president, would go unreported by international media.
For comparison, the U.S. decision to return $23 million allegedly stolen by former military leader General Sani Abacha, who ruled Nigeria from 1993 until his death in 1998, received extensive media coverage.
We found no evidence that Buhari owned a house in New York or that the FBI discovered $5 billion in cash and $700 million worth of gold in any property in the city.
The claim is false.
The false claim was also posted here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.
Credit: Africa Check
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