KEY POINTS

• The N21.68 billion NAMA contract went to NHD Interbiz, linked to Nasiru Danu.
• Danu faced arrest at Heathrow in 2019 and EFCC investigation over N51 billion diversion.
• Keyamo did not disclose Danu’s identity at the groundbreaking ceremony.

When Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo took the podium at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport last week to break ground on a new N21.68 billion headquarters for the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, he told the crowd the contractor would meet “the highest standards of quality and timelines.” He did not tell them who the contractor actually was.

The contract went to Messrs NHD Interbiz Projects Ltd. Those initials, as Peoples Gazette first reported, stand for one name: Nasiru Haladu Danu.

Danu, a 53-year-old contractor and ruling party politician, carries a record that raises serious questions about how his firm cleared whatever procurement checks preceded this award. In 2019, authorities arrested him at London’s Heathrow Airport over an alleged passport scam and money laundering. Reports at the time said he was carrying a fake Malta passport and more than 200,000 pounds in cash. He denied wrongdoing and subsequently sued for defamation over related allegations.

A Paper Trail That Keeps Growing

Beyond the Heathrow arrest, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission under former chairman Abdulrasheed Bawa opened a probe into Danu in 2021 over the alleged diversion of N51 billion set aside for the Nigeria Customs Service. When that investigation intensified, Danu boarded a private jet to Dubai to avoid questioning. No prosecution has since concluded.

Additionally, in 2019, another company Danu controls, Casiva, landed contracts to exchange crude oil for imported petroleum products through the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation. He also received a pipeline security contract in 2016 covering the Kaduna-Kano and Zaria-Gusau routes.

No Answers From Keyamo

Two sources familiar with the deal told Peoples Gazette that Keyamo deliberately avoided naming Danu at the ceremony. One anonymous official who said he opposed the contract internally went further, claiming President Bola Tinubu personally approved the award with the 2027 elections in mind. Tinubu’s office did not respond to those claims. Keyamo also ignored multiple phone calls seeking comment.

According to Billioniares Africa, the EFCC and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission both declined to comment when Peoples Gazette approached them about the contract.

Notably, Keyamo built his public profile over years of anti-corruption work and prosecutorial activism. That history makes his silence here particularly difficult to explain.