Judge Jennifer L. Thurston of the U.S. District  Court Eastern District of California ordered the FBI to transfer approximately $6 million seized from illegal and convicted American arms dealer Ara Dolarian to the Nigerian government through lawyer Jovi Usude.

Mr Usude had swung into action, petitioning the court to preempt forfeiture of millions of dollars trapped in Mr Dolarian’s account but owned by the Nigerian government to the U.S. authorities, following a 2021 report by Peoples Gazette shedding light on the matter.

The Nigerian lawyer successfully argued that the seized funds did not belong to Mr Dolarian but were assets of the West African nation and should therefore be returned.

“The funds sent by ‘S.E.l’ was for the procurement of weapons on behalf of the Nigerian government. Furthermore, the ‘CLAIMANT THE FRN’ was not aware that the funds ‘S.E.I and it (sic) agents were in violation of the laws of the United States Government,” Mr Usude argued in the international court in 2022.

After several years of legal back-and-forths, Ms Thurston ruled in favour of Nigeria, directing that the confiscated funds be transferred to Nigeria. 

“The court hereby enters a final order of forfeiture, recognising the superior interest of petitioner Federal Republic of Nigeria in the funds forfeited in the amended preliminary order,” Ms Thurston said in her ruling on December 19, 2024, capping yearslong legal battle.

The matter began in 2015 when the then army chief, Sambo Dasuki, sought to circumvent a U.S. ban on arms sales to Nigeria and increase former President Goodluck Jonathan’s chances of re-election.

Mr Dolarian was contracted to buy an arsenal of sophisticated weapons for the West African nation amid the raging Boko Haram crisis and with looming general elections at the time.

The weapons ranged from high‑explosive bombs, rockets, military-grade firearms, and aircraft-mounted cannons and $8.6 million was transferred.

On getting the money, Mr Dolarian began splurging the funds on luxury assets, including a brand-new BMW vehicle and settled his outstanding taxes.

His lavish spending triggered FBI scrutiny, and when Mr Dolarian was questioned, agents discovered that he was an illegal arms dealer who had no licence to conduct such business, in blatant violation of existing U.S. laws.

Subsequently, the FBI charged him to court after seizing the $6.1 million left from the $8.6 million transferred by the Nigerian government in 2015. Mr Dolarian had squandered over $1 million on his personal expenses rather than the illegal business he was contracted for.

Mr Dolarian had already forfeited his rights to the seized funds after he pleaded guilty to charges of illegal dealing in military-grade weapons and money laundering in June 2019. 

The Ara Dolarian case —finally a big win for Nigeria — is among a litany of cases Nigeria is fighting on international soil to protect its assets from getting yanked.