WASHINGTON D.C. — The legal battle over the alleged international assets of FCT Minister Nyesom Wike has shifted to American soil, following a formal petition by activist Omoyele Sowore to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
The petition, filed in late 2025, calls for a forensic investigation into several multimillion-dollar properties in Florida allegedly linked to the Minister’s immediate family. While U.S. authorities have historically remained tight-lipped regarding ongoing probes, the move has triggered a fresh wave of scrutiny over the financial transparency of Nigerian public officials.
The Florida Connection: Million-Dollar Mansions?
Sowore’s petition alleges that funds derived from “years of systemic corruption” in Rivers State were laundered into the U.S. real estate market.
- The Specifics: The documents submitted to Florida officials claim that properties were acquired through offshore shell companies to mask the true ownership.
- Wike’s Defence: The FCT Minister has vehemently denied the claims, describing the petition as “frivolous and malicious.” He has challenged Sowore to provide evidence of a direct link between the properties and public funds, threatening a counter-lawsuit for defamation.
U.S. Policy on ‘Kleptocracy’
The investigation comes at a time when the U.S. government has intensified its “Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative.”
- The Jersey Precedent: Only recently, the U.S. and Jersey authorities cooperated to return $9.5 million linked to former Petroleum Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke.
- Implications for Wike: If the U.S. finds merit in the petition, it could lead to the freezing of assets under the Global Magnitsky Act, a prospect that opposition figures say would be a major blow to the “Renewed Hope” administration’s image.
Political Fallout at Home
The Florida petition has become a potent weapon in the domestic war for Rivers State. Critics of the Minister argue that while he battles Governor Siminalayi Fubara over the ₦700bn IGR surplus, the international community is beginning to look at the source of his wealth.
“The time for hiding loots in Florida is over,” Sowore stated in a follow-up post. This sentiment mirrors the public outcry over Abubakar Malami’s terrorism financing trial and the unilateral ₦7.6tn NNPCL debt write-off, with many Nigerians demanding that all foreign-stashed billions be returned to fix the economy.
Status of the Probe
As of February 5, 2026, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has neither confirmed nor denied the existence of an active file on the petition. However, legal experts in Washington suggest that such petitions often lead to “quiet” financial audits that only become public during a formal seizure.
