Declassified

In 2015, Nigeria elected a retired general who promised to kill corruption and crush Boko Haram. Eight years later, he left behind about 63,000 dead, the naira in ruins, and a Supreme Court calling his last act "autocratic".This is episode 15 of Power & Plunder, a documentary series chronicling every head of state Nigeria has had since independence on October 1, 1960. My Sources:https://docs.google.com/document/d/1t6M-kq52o0yCaZVjHgVEgRt5Dff3Fk7YFi005dxvczg/edit?usp=sharing

This is episode 14 of Power & Plunder, a documentary series chronicling every head of state Nigeria has had since independence on October 1, 1960. My Sources:https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BTEtDc1FwIMZjiafI-lj61C4hNsScOBxLNfl64-FxqA/edit?usp=sharing

A quiet chemistry teacher is handpicked to lead Africa's most populous nation — but the election that put him there was stolen, his body was already failing, and the people closest to him would use his dying days to fight for control of a country of 150 million people.This is episode 13 of Power & Plunder, a documentary series chronicling every head of state Nigeria has had since independence on October 1, 1960. My Sources:https://docs.google.com/document/d/14xxfmTYCeSsZNG9Y43H0ZlHIhFNCwVkzzz51xLgeQ08/edit?usp=sharing

In June 1998, a broke ex-general walks out of a Nigerian prison cell. Eleven months later, he's the president of Africa's most populous nation and almost none of it was his idea.This is episode 12 of Power & Plunder, a documentary series chronicling every head of state Nigeria has had since independence on October 1, 1960. My Sources:https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cuIY0z8rQzHn-JazubvhSIAflXzgmrJKfsTw3_24jVM/edit?usp=sharingYou can now support my work by donating here: https://judebela.com/donate

General Abdulsalami Abubakar presided over the most consequential 11 months in modern Nigerian history. A compressed, turbulent, and deeply contradictory transition from military dictatorship to civilian rule that began with one suspicious death, was punctuated by another, and ended with a flawed election that nonetheless inaugurated the Fourth Republic. This is episode 11 of Power and Plunder, a 16-episode documentary series chronicling every head of state Nigeria has had since independence on October 1, 1960. Each episode covers a single leader — from the moment they seized or received power to the moment they lost it or gave it away.My Sources:https://docs.google.com/document/d/1V_3OgXoCgdxEhZRY6Y4uK86TYwPECvJ79RFqvMFD2NU/edit?usp=sharing

General Sani Abacha ruled Nigeria from November 17, 1993 until his death on June 8, 1998 — a period that produced the worst human rights abuses, the most brazen kleptocracy, and the deepest international isolation in the country's post-independence history. This is the story of how he did it all.This is Episode 10 of Power & Plunder — a 16-part series covering every head of state Nigeria has had since independence. Built on declassified British and American archives, court records, and primary sources.My sources:https://docs.google.com/document/d/1z_OUKYYuVwQuqO3N94PzomQxFWWxIo9Of48wlJl6dhI/edit?usp=sharing

When Nigeria's military dictator, Ibrahim Babangida annulled Africa's freest election in 1993 and installed a corporate boardroom chairman as a civilian placeholder, the 83-day presidency that followed was a meticulously engineered trap designed to hand power to the one general who had been positioning himself for it all along.This is the story of The 83-Day President Nigeria Tried To Forget.This is Episode 9 of Power & Plunder — a 16-part series covering every head of state Nigeria has had since independence. Built on declassified British and American archives, court records, and primary sources.My Sources:https://docs.google.com/document/d/10ocwgCCOdOpcyQVV738wlIYRy4aDBM26dxQcwVwlhwg/edit?usp=sharing

How did one military officer hold power for eight years, preside over the disappearance of $12.4 billion, build Africa's most sophisticated system of political corruption, annul the freest election his country ever held, and retire to a mansion without ever being prosecuted?This is the story of Ibrahim Babangida, the Smiling Dictator Who Stole Nigeria’s DemocracyThis is Episode 8 of Power & Plunder — a 16-part series covering every head of state Nigeria has had since independence. Built on declassified British and American archives, court records, and primary sources.

Between December 1983 and August 1985, Nigeria endured one of the most brutal military governments in Africa. It jailed 100s of politicians, executed drug offenders under retroactive law, attempted to kidnap a former minister from London using Israeli intelligence operatives, imprisoned Fela Kuti, and lost a power struggle that was rigged from day one.This is the story of Dictator Nigeria wants to Forget. This is Episode 7 of Power & Plunder — a 16-part series covering every head of state Nigeria has had since independence. Built on declassified British and American archives, court records, and primary sources.My Sources:https://docs.google.com/document/d/18zZHAPXMjmATeTniGpKHzpKAmoJiTdV2p_e7DCGymuQ/edit?usp=sharing

Shehu Shagari, a gentle, scholarly Fulani teacher who never truly sought the presidency, presided over a republic that squandered an estimated $16 billion in oil wealth, expelled two million West African migrants, rigged its own re-election so blatantly that citizens cheered when soldiers arrived, and ended with a brigadier shot dead in a predawn firefight at the presidential villa. This is Episode 6 of Power & Plunder — a 16-part series covering every head of state Nigeria has had since independence. Built on declassified British and American archives, court records, and primary sources.My Sources:https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ng-sWHPdSHvLKOjFyM5MMtPCDFbB1EbEGk-9BJwHcKs/edit?usp=sharing

He inherited a traumatized state reeling from the assassination of Murtala Mohammed, and handed over to an elected civilian president, becoming the first African military ruler to voluntarily surrender power. But before walking away, what he did with that absolute power was interesting.This is Episode 5 of Power & Plunder — a 16-part series covering every head of state Nigeria has had since independence. Built on declassified British and American archives, court records, and primary sources.My Sources:https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TA-eY7ndJ0qzsgBnFpyIjA45OBxii71BLl1ZqpYqD4M/edit?usp=sharing

A 37-year-old Hausa-Fulani military officer from Kano, he came to power in a bloodless coup and was assassinated in a Lagos traffic ambush led by Lt. Col. Buka Suka Dimka exactly 33 days after delivering his famous "Africa Has Come of Age" speech at the OAU, in which he directly confronted the United States over Angola. Declassified US State Department documents reveal that Washington viewed Murtala as "erratic, vainglorious, impetuous, corrupt, vindictive, intelligent, articulate, daring" and that American intelligence-gathering on Nigeria intensified dramatically during his tenure.This is Episode 4 of Power & Plunder — a 16-part series covering every head of state Nigeria has had since independence. Built on declassified British and American archives, court records, and primary sources.My Sources:https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VCKhBbuhG0-LFqfizrNL75S0H0PAiicW2GsuLgxdMlI/edit?usp=sharing

Yakubu Gowon inherited a nation soaked in the blood of two coups. He then presided over a civil war that killed up to two million people. His government oversaw an incredible oil boom that turned Nigeria from a groundnut exporter into a petro-state. Yet he watched as the system around him became the most corrupt government Nigeria had ever seen.This is the story of how trust built a presidency — and destroyed it.This is Episode 3 of Power & Plunder — a 16-part series covering every head of state Nigeria has had since independence. Built on declassified British and American archives, court records, and primary sources.My Sources:https://docs.google.com/document/d/1L_bgWkzUOq6hQre9wVoEEt7qdYFcRk9D9euVevmaF48/edit?usp=sharing

On January 15, 1966, a group of young Nigerian officers launched a coordinated assassination plot that killed the Prime Minister, the Northern Premier, and nearly every senior political and military figure in the country. The one man they were supposed to kill but missed — Major General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi — ended up ruling the nation by the next morning.He didn't plan the coup. He didn't want the job. But for the next 194 days, everything he did was used against him.This is Episode 2 of Power & Plunder — a 16-part series covering every head of state Nigeria has had since independence. Built on declassified British and American archives, court records, and primary sources.My Sources:https://docs.google.com/document/d/1whhmgEzvbeRnW42HtWYjJJtItMaMbA35o3ZqwLCHsUk/edit?usp=sharing

In 1914, Britain smashed two completely different territories into one colony — because it was cheaper. They rigged the constitution, found oil, changed the rules, and handed it all to a man who knew the whole thing was broken.His name was Abubakar Tafawa Balewa. The Golden Voice of Africa. He was Nigeria's Unlucky prime minister who was set up to fail.This is Episode 1 of Power & Plunder — a 16-part series covering every head of state Nigeria has had since independence. Built on declassified British and American archives, court records, and primary sources.My Sources:https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qTavbF3rpMKse122oEeGXygHtaVqM8J9msvW3ElZbdI/edit?usp=sharing

The Bush administration classified Somalia as part of the "Global War on Terror." They saw a failed state, an Islamist movement taking power, and they saw a potential al-Qaeda haven. What they did next was something straight out of thrilling spy movies. A secret operation aimed at preventing terrorism in East Africa. However, things went South pretty fast and that covert action instead created the very monster now hunting them.This is the story of how the United States 'accidentally' made Al-Shabaab.My Sources:https://docs.google.com/document/d/1G86txCYx548Sf_LTftx-rgUstLOP4qlOUwdZUELkhxw/edit?usp=sharing

The IMF was created many years ago with the intention of providing loans to countries in financial need, but the conditions attached to these loans seem to be causing more harm than good for poor African countries. This is the story of one of the world's biggest financial scams, where one of the most respected financial institutions in the world keeps paying African countries to stay poor.

On one remote hillside in northern Tanzania lies the only source of tanzanite on Earth — a gem a thousand times rarer than diamonds. This documentary follows how that single mountain became the centre of a global criminal economy, where foreign corporations, corrupt officials, and international smugglers stole billions in blue stone while the people living on the mountain were left in poverty or buried in its tunnels.

Beneath the dry, red soil stretching from Zamfara through Kaduna and into Niger State lies one of West Africa's most lucrative gold deposits. For generations, villagers dug these pits by hand, crude tools, modest yields, enough to sustain a family. But sometime around 2011, something shifted. What had been a humble artisanal livelihood began transforming into a criminally engineered enterprise. One that now sits at the heart of Nigeria's worst security crisis.

This is the story of Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo.My Sources:https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MXH-etGZ13klSj2QaUTPboh5O04n58VKIGC3ujCrlf8/edit?usp=drivesdk

A Lebanese-Nigerian billionaire convicted of laundering a dictator's stolen billions has, three decades later, become the single largest private infrastructure contractor in the country — awarded Nigeria's second-highest honour by a president whose son shares a company with his.My Sources:https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SEztdh_xj3VfUdlLemRbzZ1A_RzoHD8Xe-Y42Hp6Xf8/edit?usp=sharing

How A wanted drug lord infliltrated the President's Family. This is the story of the most dangerous highway in West Africa.My Sources:https://docs.google.com/document/d/1St63cbTg886ivryvBuVyHKaXwdX5JpdcvYgj3k4DAUU/edit?usp=sharing

On February 6, 2026, diplomats from the United States and Iran sat down in Muscat, Oman, for the first round of nuclear negotiations since the Twelve-Day War of June 2025. Over the next three weeks, across three cities and three rounds of talks, something extraordinary happened: both sides moved toward a deal. By February 26, Iran had agreed to never stockpile enriched uranium, to accept full IAEA verification, and to irreversibly downgrade its existing stockpile. Oman’s Foreign Minister called it a breakthrough “that has never been achieved before.”Less than 36 hours later, on February 28, the United States and Israel launched the largest joint military operation in the Middle East since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. They killed Iran’s Supreme Leader. They bombed government buildings, military bases, nuclear facilities, and cultural heritage sites. The question is, who who was afraid of peace in the middle east so much so that they sabotaged the deal?

This is the story about the DRC’s war with hundreds of armed groups battling for territory, resources, and influence. Decades of instability have become the country's status quo, creating an economy of violence that benefits nearly everyone except ordinary Congolese. Here’s why this endless conflict matters far beyond Africa’s borders.

The Future of energy depends on Africa's $34 Billion Lithium Rush. But there's a dark side to that story. This is the tale of how the world is scrambling to mine Africa's lithium right now.

This is a story like no other. This is an investigation to answer a deeply troubling question. Is the U.S. on a secret plot to invade Nigeria?

Tension is rising in Tanzania but what is really behind this protests against President Hassan Samia Suluhu? Who is behind this revolution? Who is Samia Suluhu and why do Tanzanians want her out?

Togo has been dubbed the most unhappy country in the world, but why is that? I want to show you how Togo has come to be defined by long servitude, first to the slave masters, then the colonial powers and now to the oldest family dynasty in Africa.We will chronicle the rise of the Gnassingbé dynasty, whose grip on Togo has been aided by a plethora of corruption scandals, foreign influences, economic sabotage, and iron-fisted repression that have made Togo the most unhappy country in the world.

The Nigerian government has passed a major tax reform law, the Nigeria Tax Act, 2025 – along with related laws to overhaul how taxes are collected.These new rules are the biggest tax changes in decades, aiming to raise government revenue by bringing more people and businesses into the tax net. But what do all these legal terms mean for the average Nigerian? In this video, I will break down how personal income tax works under the new law, what small businesses will pay, how the law affects the informal sector (like market traders, drivers, and online hustlers), and how the government plans to enforce these taxes.

This is the story of the Janjaweed militia, the most ruthless group in Africa and how greed has made them so powerful.How did a ragtag desert militia become a global war corporation — a group that trades blood for gold and gold for weapons?

In this episode, we will look at the history of Insecurity in Nigeria. For the video version of this episode, check out this link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8K_YYAhUgo&t=12s

The NNPC Scandals you never heard about

This is the story of France in Africa

How Foreign Aid is destroying Africa

In this episode, I Investigated The Fake Drugs Industry In Nigeria. An industry said to be worth billions of dollars globally.

Exposing the Dark Sides of Police Brutality

Why is Nigerian Economy in shambles? The answer may be seen in it's history.

This is a story about Cultism and how it has penetrated every arm of our society with the entertainment industry glorifying the act and many young men losing their lives in a worthless and meaningless pursuit.

This is the story of Muhammadu Buhari's presidency from 2015 to 2023. This is the part of the story that mainstream media will not show you.

In this episode, we go through the journey of Muhammadu Buhari and the APC and how the unholy matrimony of 2015 changed Nigeria forever.

This is the story of the Greatest Money Heist in Nigeria's history.