Sani Dangote

Alhaji Sani Dangote (1959/60 – 14 November 2021) was a Nigerian businessman. He was the younger brother of the wealthiest person in Africa, Aliko Dangote and vice president of the family run Dangote Group. He died on 14 November 2021 in the United States from colon cancer.

Personal life

Dangote had a wife and eight children,[1] in addition to three brothers: Aliko, the wealthiest person in Africa;[2] Bello, who died in a plane crash alongside the son of the military head of state Sani Abacha in 1996;[3] and Garba, who died in 2013 after a stroke.[4]

In September 2014, 20 of Dangote's bank accounts were temporarily frozen by the High Court of Lagos State after an alleged failure to pay back a ₦5.2 billion loan from the Union Bank of Nigeria for his companies Dansa Foods Limited and Bulk Pack Services Limited. Union Bank asserted that he had been pressuring banks into honouring cheques to deplete the funds and divert them to foreign banks in Canada, Switzerland and the UAE to avoid paying the debt.[5] In 2015, Union Bank took steps toward seizing Dansa Foods Limited and its assets.[6] In 2016, the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria took over both companies to help pay off the debts.[7][8]

In August 2018, Dangote was implicated in a lawsuit against his company, MPS Nigeria Limited, by an Italian contractor after an alleged breach of contract. Being accused of fraud, Dangote was alleged to not have paid salaries and to have withheld the contractor's passport for two years. The case was dismissed by the court due to inconsistent evidence. The contractor's passport was returned two months later in October after intervention from Nigerian authorities.[9]

Illness and death

Before his death, Dangote travelled to the United States to receive treatment for colon cancer.[10] On 14 November 2021, at the age of 61, he succumbed from the illness[2][1] at Cleveland Clinic in Weston, Florida.[11] His funeral, initially set to take place on 16 November in Kano,[1] was delayed until the 17th due to paperwork issues resulting in his body not being returned to Nigeria.[12] After prayers were held at the palace of the emir of Kano, he was buried at a family estate in Kano. Present at his burial were his brother Aliko, current and previous senate presidents Ahmad Lawan and Bukola Saraki, and governor of Borno State Babagana Umara Zulum, among others.[13]

References
  1. "Sani Dangote burial: Aliko Dangote brother funeral go take place for Kano Tuesday". BBC News Pidgin (in Nigerian Pidgin). Archived from the original on 16 November 2021.
  2. "Sani Dangote dies: Aliko Dangote brother Sani, Vice President of Dangote Group don die". BBC News Pidgin (in Nigerian Pidgin). 15 November 2021. Archived from the original on 15 November 2021.
  3. Peter, Ola (19 March 2018). "How Abacha's Eldest Son, Ibrahim died with Dangote's Brother, Bello in a Presidential Jet Crash; Scandals Unveiled". Within Nigeria. Archived from the original on 23 November 2019.
  4. "Dangote loses brother". Encomium Magazine. 18 October 2013. Archived from the original on 18 October 2013.
  5. "Court 'freezes' Dangote's accounts in 20 banks over debt". Premium Times. 4 September 2014. Archived from the original on 12 September 2014.
  6. "Union Bank Takes Over Sani Dangote's Company Over Unpaid N4b Loan". Sahara Reporters. 23 July 2015. Archived from the original on 25 July 2015.
  7. "AMCON Takes over Sani Dangote's Asset". This Day. 26 May 2016. Archived from the original on 27 May 2016.
  8. Udo, Bassey (20 November 2016). "AMCON takes over Dangote's factory". Premium Times. Archived from the original on 21 November 2016.
  9. Okakwu, Evelyn (8 April 2019). "Italian contractor accuses Sani Dangote of N30 million fraud in alleged breach of contract". Premium Times. Archived from the original on 2 July 2021.
  10. Pascal (16 November 2021). "Dangote's body arrives Kano". The Nigerian Xpress. Archived from the original on 16 November 2021.
  11. Kyari, Hadiza (15 November 2021). "Sani Dangote Ya Rasu" [Sani Dangote has died]. Voice of America Hausa (in Hausa). Archived from the original on 15 November 2021.
  12. "Billionaire Dangote's Brother, Sani Set For Burial Wednesday As Documentation Delays Arrival From US". Sahara Reporters. 16 November 2021. Archived from the original on 17 November 2021.
  13. Bukar, Muhammad (17 November 2021). "Govs, Sirika, Lawan, others present as Dangote's brother is buried in Kano". Daily Post. Archived from the original on 18 November 2021.
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