The battle against alleged corruption in Nigeria has taken a dramatic international turn as human rights activist and founder of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore, has petitioned the Attorney General of Florida, Hon. James Uthmeier, to seize and prosecute multimillion-dollar properties allegedly linked to Nigeria’s current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Ezenwo Nyesom Wike. The petition, filed on September 22, 2025, by Sowore’s legal team, Deji Adeyanju & Partners, accuses Wike of acquiring luxury homes in Winter Springs, Florida, through illicit funds.
According to the petition, Wike and his wife, Justice Eberechi Suzette Nyesom-Wike of Nigeria’s Court of Appeal, secretly purchased three lakeside properties valued at more than $6 million. The properties were allegedly transferred to their children in what the petition describes as a deliberate attempt to conceal true ownership. Sowore’s lawyers argue that Wike, a career politician since 1999 with no record of legitimate private enterprise, could not reasonably justify such vast foreign acquisitions without recourse to corruption.
The petition goes further, alleging that the Florida properties form part of a broader pattern of corruption that has marked Wike’s political career. It accuses the minister of allocating thousands of hectares of Abuja’s most valuable lands to his sons, Jordan and Joaquin, through shell companies and proxies. Independent investigations cited in the petition estimate that at least 3,822 hectares, valued at $6.45 billion, may have been unlawfully transferred under his watch.
Citing both Florida and U.S. federal statutes, the lawyers contend that these acquisitions violate anti-money laundering laws designed to prevent illicit wealth from being laundered through real estate transactions. Specifically, the petition references Florida’s Money Laundering Act, the Contraband Forfeiture Act, and U.S. federal provisions under 18 U.S.C. §§1956 and 1957, which criminalize the concealment of illicit funds through property purchases. The petition also points to the U.S. Department of Justice’s Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative as a mechanism for seizing assets linked to corrupt foreign officials.
In their submission, Sowore’s legal representatives make three key requests: first, that the Florida Attorney General investigates the source of funds used in the acquisitions and begins forfeiture proceedings if they are proven to be illicit; second, that criminal prosecutions be launched against all individuals involved in the transactions; and third, that visa bans and sanctions be imposed on Wike to prevent further abuse of U.S. territory as a safe haven for alleged corrupt enrichment.
The petition underscores a growing international push to curb illicit financial flows from developing countries into Western real estate markets. Analysts say this case could heighten global scrutiny of Nigerian politicians who move questionable wealth abroad. For Sowore, a long-standing anti-corruption crusader, the petition represents yet another move to ensure that the fight against corruption is not confined within Nigeria’s borders but extended to any jurisdiction where stolen wealth may be hidden.
