Human rights activist and publisher of Sahara Reporters, Mr. Omoyele Sowore, has petitioned the Attorney General of Florida, Hon. James Uthmeier, demanding the forfeiture of multi-million-dollar properties allegedly acquired by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mr. Nyesom Wike, in the United States.
The petition, dated September 22, 2025, and signed by Sowore’s lawyer, Mr. Deji Adeyanju (Esq.), accused Mr. Wike of secretly acquiring three luxury lakeside residences in Winter Springs, Seminole County, Florida, valued at over $6 million through suspicious cash transactions deliberately structured to evade oversight.
According to the petition, the identified assets include a 5,000 square foot residence at 113 Springcreek Lane, Winter Springs, purchased in cash for $535,000 and transferred to his son, Jordan Wike (25); a 3,401 square foot home at 209 Hertherwood Court, Winter Springs, acquired for $459,157 in cash and transferred to his son, Joaquin Wike (23); and a 3,901 square foot home at 208 Hertherwood Court, Winter Springs, purchased for $465,000 in cash and transferred to his daughter, Jazmyne Wike (20).
The acquisitions, executed through quit claim deeds between July 2021 and September 2023, were allegedly transferred directly to Mr. Wike’s children. Sowore’s lawyer stated that the cash-only acquisitions bypassed banking oversight and raised serious money laundering concerns.
Mr. Adeyanju argued that the transactions violated the Florida Money Laundering Act (Chapter 896.101, Fla. Stat.), the Florida Contraband Forfeiture Act, and U.S. federal laws under 18 U.S.C. §§ 1956 and 1957.
The petition also accused Mr. Wike of failing to declare the foreign assets to Nigeria’s Code of Conduct Bureau as required under the Constitution.
It alleged that although the named grantor in the quitclaim deeds is his wife, Hon. Justice Eberechi Suzzette Nyesom-Wike of Nigeria’s Court of Appeal, the acquisitions and subsequent transfers to their children were undertaken in concert with her husband, and that her legitimate income could not reasonably sustain multi-million-dollar cash purchases of luxury homes in Florida.
Mr. Adeyanju further referenced the U.S. Department of Justice’s Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative, which targets assets linked to corrupt foreign officials.
“The Initiative provides a ready mechanism for action in these kinds of cases, where corrupt foreign officials launder stolen public wealth into the United States under the guise of ordinary family transfers,” he said.
The petition alleged that Mr. Wike’s acquisitions in the U.S. were part of a wider pattern of corruption cultivated throughout his career as a public servant and politician.
It accused him of allocating over 3,800 hectares of prime land in Abuja valued at $6.45 billion to his children through shell companies and proxies during his tenure as FCT Minister.
In his demands, Mr. Sowore urged the Florida Attorney General to investigate the source of funds used in the acquisitions, commence forfeiture proceedings against the identified Florida properties, institute criminal prosecution against all parties involved, and impose visa bans and sanctions on Mr. Wike and his family.
The petition warned that “the people of Nigeria have been impoverished for decades by the diversion of public funds. It would be a perversion of justice if those funds, siphoned through abuse of office, are allowed to flourish in Florida’s real estate market.”
The letter was also copied to the U.S. Attorney General, Pam Bondi, and the U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, Richard M. Mills, Jr. Attached were property records and published reports, including quitclaim deeds, showing how Mr. Wike and his wife transferred the Florida properties into their children’s names between 2021 and 2023.
Mr. Wike, a former Governor of Rivers State, was appointed FCT Minister by President Bola Tinubu in August 2023. On Sunday, Mr. Sowore shared copies of the quit claim deeds on his verified X (formerly Twitter) account, showing ownership transfers executed on July 22, 2021, July 27, 2021, and August 13, 2023.
