BREAKING: Wike Faces U.S. Government Investigation Over Newly Acquired Florida Mansions, Risks Visa Ban
From Our Correspondent
Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, is under investigation by the United States government for the alleged unlawful acquisition of multimillion-dollar properties in Florida.
Activist Omoyele Sowore submitted a petition dated September 22, 2025, urging Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier to prosecute Mr. Wike for alleged money laundering and to initiate forfeiture proceedings against the properties.
The petition, which was signed by Sowore’s lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, also called for U.S. authorities to impose sanctions and visa bans on the minister.
According to the petition, which references a report from the Peoples Gazette dated September 1, Mr. Wike and his wife, Justice Eberechi Nyesom-Wike of Nigeria’s Court of Appeal, secretly purchased three luxury lakeside homes in Winter Springs, Seminole County, between 2021 and 2023. The properties, now valued at over $6 million, were reportedly transferred to their children: Jordan, 25, Joaquin, 23, and Jazmyne, 20.
The identified homes include:
– 113 Springcreek Lane, purchased for $535,000 and transferred to Jordan
– 209 Hertherwood Court, purchased for $459,157 and transferred to Joaquin
– 208 Hertherwood Court, purchased for $465,000 and transferred to Jazmyne
The petition alleges that all three purchases were made in cash using quitclaim deeds, a transfer mechanism often utilized within families but susceptible to exploitation for concealing illicit funds.
“These transactions, executed in cash and hidden under the names of his children, indicate a deliberate scheme to launder the proceeds of corruption into U.S. real estate,” the petition asserts.
Sowore further alleges that the properties were not declared to Nigeria’s Code of Conduct Bureau, violating the Fifth Schedule of the 1999 Constitution, which requires public officials to disclose all assets.
He also cites several U.S. and Florida laws allegedly breached, including the Florida Money Laundering Act (§896.101, Fla. Stat.), the Contraband Forfeiture Act (§932.701–707, Fla. Stat.), and federal statutes on money laundering (18 U.S.C. §1956 and §1957).
“This brazen conduct, paired with his unexplained foreign acquisitions, suggests that Florida is being used as a safe haven for laundering the proceeds of corruption,” the petition concludes.
Wike is considered one of President Bola Tinubu’s most valued ministers and played a significant role in securing his victory in the controversial 2023 election in Rivers State.
