Nigeria: How Epstein, ex‑Israeli PM tried to profit from Nigeria’s Boko Haram crisis
By Zuleihat Owuiye, Mamos Nigeria
A recent investigation by Drop Site News (DSN) has uncovered how Jeffrey Epstein, the late American financier and convicted sex offender, worked with former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak to seek financial gain from the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria.
According to emails released by the U.S. Justice Department in 2018, Epstein facilitated talks between Jide Zeitlin, then‑chair of Nigeria’s Sovereign Investment Fund, and Sultan Ahmad bin Sulayem, former chairman of UAE‑based logistics giant DP World. The discussions centered on leveraging Zeitlin’s influence to help Sulayem secure shipping terminals in Lagos and Badagry—projects that had stalled since 2005. DP World reportedly demanded full control of any surrounding port before committing to an industrial zone in Nigeria. Sulayem resigned from DP World on February 13 after his Epstein ties became public. Epstein died in a New York jail in 2019.
Epstein corresponded almost daily with Barak, who was actively expanding Israeli‑Nigerian security ties. After stepping down as Israel’s defence minister in 2013, Barak used his Nigerian security connections to create energy and investment opportunities for Israeli associates.
The DSN report also highlights Epstein’s broader interest in technology and finance in Nigeria. Investment adviser Barnaby Marsh, a friend of Epstein, wrote about “the growing role of cards and phones in economic exchange and the future of money” after receiving a snippet of Epstein’s “Tale of the Slave.” Marsh shared an article on Nigeria’s use of electronic identity cards and biometric databases.
In 2015, Barak and a business partner invested $15 million in FST Biometrics, founded by former Israeli military intelligence chief Aharon Ze’evi Farkash. Its Basel biometric system, originally used at Israel‑Gaza crossings, was marketed in Nigeria as a counter‑terrorism tool. Barak reportedly helped sell the technology to Babcock University to deter Boko Haram attacks, while promoting broader population‑control capabilities to African governments.
DSN notes that this security cooperation allowed Barak and Epstein to profit from instability in Nigeria while advancing Israeli firms’ political and economic interests. In 2020, the World Bank backed a partnership with the Israel National Cyber Directorate and Toka Group—another ex‑intelligence startup co‑founded by Barak—to contribute directly to Nigeria’s national cybersecurity infrastructure.
The investigation underscores how Epstein and Barak combined strategic security interventions with investment opportunities to exploit conflict‑driven chaos in Nigeria.
