DESPITE lingering controversies over his past, President Bola Tinubu has described, Belarusian businessman, Alexander Zingman, a figure linked to arms dealings and murky international business deals as a longtime friend.
Speaking at the launch of the Renewed Hope Mechanisation Programme in Abuja, Tinubu pointed to Alex Sigman and described him as his longtime friend and very good neighbour from Chicago State University, Illinois, the United States.
Tinubu said, “My dear very good friend, the story must be clear here. Alex Sigman. We were together at the Chicago State University.
“To all of you, Alex was my very good neighbour, and we went to the same school with me in Chicago.
“Never did we dream that I would be in this position as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and that Alex will be a successful businessman from Belarus to bring about a very successful collaboration and bilateral relationship that would promote economic prosperity for the future of our two countries.
“I believe our university will be very proud that we are doing this here today.”
Although Tinubu attended Chicago State University in the mid-1970s, records indicate that Zingman was enrolled at the University of Illinois at Chicago and would have been only around 12 years old during Tinubu’s college years making Tinubu’s claim unlikely.
Litany of allegations against Zingman across Africa
Beyond the suspicious timeline, Zingman, like Tinubu, is no stranger to controversy. His international dealings and political connections have drawn mounting scrutiny over the years. He has faced allegations of arms brokering, corruption, and questionable business transactions across Africa.
In March 2021, he was briefly detained in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo, after meeting with former President Joseph Kabila.
Local authorities suspected him of involvement in arms trafficking, and some media outlets went as far as branding him an “arms dealer” with alleged links to a coup plot.
Though no formal charges were filed and he was released after 12 days, the incident cast a shadow over his operations in the region.
In Zimbabwe, questions have also been raised about his influence. According to a 2023 exposé by the civic group @PacheduZW, Zingman reportedly secured more than 54,000 hectares for gold mining as far back as 2018.
Four years later, he was tied to a fire engine procurement deal that saw local authorities compelled to purchase trucks from his company at an inflated unit cost of $464,296—fueling speculation of collusion with President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
His name has also been linked to a controversial arms deal in Zambia. A 2020 report by Digger News featured photographs of Zingman alongside then-President Edgar Lungu and top military officials. The outlet claimed he played a role in brokering a meeting with Rosoboronexport, Russia’s state-owned arms exporter, ahead of Zambia’s 2017 acquisition of five Sukhoi fighter jets.
Zingman denied the allegations, distancing himself from the arms trade and asserting that his interests lie in agriculture, even threatening legal action over the reports.
Drawing on documents accessed through the Pandora Papers leak, the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project(OCCRP), also found that Zingman, co-owned a Zimbabwean gold mining venture, Zim Goldfields, with the son of a senior Belarusian official. His company, Aftrade denied at the time that Zingman had any involvement with the gold venture.
Zingman’s name has also been linked to an online disinformation campaign. In 2020, some of the thousands of fake social media accounts controlled by a notorious disinformation software promoted favourable stories about Zingman and his business in a concerted and automated campaign. Zingman’s lawyer said at the time that his client had never engaged in disinformation campaigns.
Tinubu’s Chicago link and the drug forfeiture case
Zingman’s growing profile in Nigeria comes at a time when Tinubu himself is still facing questions over his past financial dealings in the United States. In the early 1990s, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, now Nigeria’s president, was linked to a U.S. investigation into a heroin trafficking network operating out of Chicago.
The case focused on a syndicate led by Adegboyega Akande and others, who were suspected of distributing white heroin sourced from Southeast Asia. U.S. authorities discovered that Tinubu, then a Nigerian national residing in the United States, had several bank accounts in his name into which large sums of money had been deposited. Some of these deposits were flagged by investigators as being potentially tied to the proceeds of drug trafficking activities.
As the investigation unfolded, the U.S. government filed a civil forfeiture case targeting Tinubu’s bank accounts, particularly one held at First Heritage Bank in the United States. The authorities alleged that the funds amounting to over $1 million were either proceeds of narcotics trafficking or were involved in financial transactions connected to drug-related activities.
Tinubu, through his lawyers, reached a settlement with U.S. prosecutors in 1993. Under this agreement, he forfeited $460,000 to the U.S. government while denying any wrongdoing. Crucially, the forfeiture was not the result of a criminal conviction but a civil action that did not require proof beyond reasonable doubt.
The case resurfaced repeatedly in Nigeria’s political discourse, especially in the buildup to major elections. Critics and political opponents cited the forfeiture as evidence of Tinubu’s alleged involvement in criminal enterprises, while supporters argued that he was never indicted, tried, or convicted of any crime.
Atiku raises questions
The ICIR reports that a former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has urged President Bola Tinubu to clarify his alleged relationship with Alex Zingman, a Belarusian businessman reportedly involved in multiple criminal activities.
In a statement released on Tuesday, June 24, Atiku’s Media Office questioned the validity of Tinubu’s claim, citing inconsistencies in his public records and demanding more explanation on the issue.
Abubakar, who contested against Tinubu in the 2023 presidential poll on the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) platform, expressed concern over Tinubu’s connection with an individual whose global reputation is marred by controversies.
He said a basic review of publicly available information immediately called the president’s claim into question.
He noted that Zingman had been linked to controversial deals in Africa, including arms trafficking and financial impropriety.
He added that various reports listed Zingman as being born in 1966.
“By the year 1979, when President Tinubu claims to have graduated from CSU, Zingman would have been only 13 years old.
“Are we now to believe that the Guinness Book of Records missed the story of a 13-year-old Belarusian prodigy graduating from an American university alongside Bola Ahmed Tinubu?” the former vice president queried.
He added, “Were you taught in the same classroom or different decades? Mr. President, Nigerians deserve to know if the Alex Zingman of global infamy — the arms-linked tycoon — shares the same seat in your memories or only in a script of fiction,” the Adamawa-born politician submitted, demanding answers from Tinubu.
Nurudeen Akewushola is an investigative reporter and fact-checker with The ICIR. He believes courageous in-depth investigative reporting is the key to social justice, accountability and good governance in society. You can reach him via nyahaya@icirnigeria.org and @NurudeenAkewus1 on Twitter.