Ex-Syrian leader, not Nigeria’s president, named winner of corruption award

Published on January 8, 2025 at 11:29
1 min read
By Oluseyi AWOJULUGBE, AFP Nigeria

In Nigeria, as in many countries around the world, corruption is a major topic of discussion among citizens looking to hold their political leaders to account. Several recent posts on social media claim that Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu has been listed as the most corrupt person in the world. However, this is misleading; a global network of journalists who investigate corrupt practices named former Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad as the most corrupt person in 2024. Tinubu was one of the other five finalists for the award.

“JUST IN: Bola Tinubu tops list of world’s most corrupt, organised crime Persons of the Year in 2024,” reads a Facebook post published on December 31, 2024.

The post, which includes a link to a news report with a similar title, has been shared more than 190 times.

It was published by an account with more than 70,000 followers that identifies as Biafran and regularly shares content supporting the secessionist movement known as Indigenous People of Biafra.

Screenshot of misleading Facebook post taken on January 6, 2025

The claim has appeared elsewhere on X, TikTok, and Facebook.

Corruption award

The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), a media organisation focusing on investigative journalism, annually names a personality of the year.

According to the OCCRP, the award recognises people who “wreak havoc around the world through organised crime and corruption”.

Nominations for the award are open to the public, but the eventual winner is decided by a panel.

Deposed Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad was announced as the 2024 winner (archived here).

In a statement, the panel accused Assad of involvement in the drug trade, cigarette smuggling and widespread human rights abuses including torture, murder, the use of chemical weapons, and mass detentions.

The statement also listed the five other finalists for the award: Tinubu, Kenyan President William Ruto, former president of Indonesia Joko Widodo, former prime minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina and Indian businessman Gautam Adani.

The statement said that Ruto received the most nominations – more than 40,000 – but did not specify how many the other finalists received.

Is there content that you would like AFP to fact-check? Get in touch.

E-mail