Omoyele Sowore, Human rights activist and Sahara Reporters founder, has formally petitioned Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier to forfeit multimillion-dollar properties allegedly acquired illicitly by Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, according to News360 Nigeria.
The petition, dated September 22 and filed through Sowore’s lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, alleges that Minister Wike and his wife, Justice Eberechi Suzette Nyesom-Wike of the Nigerian Court of Appeal, secretly purchased three valuable lakeside properties in Winter Springs, Florida. The properties are said to be worth over $6 million.
Sowore’s legal team claims the assets were subsequently transferred to their children under suspicious circumstances that suggest attempts to conceal ownership. They argue that Wike, who has served as a public official since 1999 and has no known private business ventures, cannot substantiate the legal source of funds used to acquire the properties.
The petition accuses Wike of using Florida as a “safe haven” to launder proceeds of corruption. It further alleges that, as FCT Minister, he allocated prime public lands in Abuja to his sons through the use of shell companies and proxy entities.
Sowore is urging Florida authorities to invoke the Money Laundering Act and Forfeiture Act to seize the properties, prosecute those involved in the transactions, and impose relevant penalties. Additionally, the petition calls on U.S. officials to impose a visa ban on Minister Wike in line with the United States’ global stance on combating corruption.
Copies of the petition have been sent to the U.S. Attorney General and the U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria for further action.
This latest development adds to growing calls for increased transparency and accountability among Nigerian public officers suspected of illicit enrichment through overseas assets.
