Former presidential candidate and activist Omoyele Sowore has petitioned Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, calling for the forfeiture and prosecution of FCT Minister Nyesom Wike over alleged illicit property purchases in the United States.
The petition, dated September 22, 2025, and filed by Sowore’s lawyer Deji Adeyanju, accuses Wike of secretly buying multi-million-dollar real estate in Florida using cash transactions intended to conceal the source of the funds.
It claims that Wike, a former Rivers State Governor, and his wife, Justice Eberechi Suzzette Nyesom-Wike of Nigeria’s Court of Appeal, acquired three luxury lakeside homes in Winter Springs, Seminole County, Florida, valued at over $6 million. The properties reportedly include:
- 113 Springcreek Lane – 5,000 sq. ft., purchased for $535,000 in cash and transferred to Jordan Wike (25)
- 209 Hertherwood Court – 3,401 sq. ft., purchased for $459,157 in cash and transferred to Joaquin Wike (23)
- 208 Hertherwood Court – 3,901 sq. ft., purchased for $465,000 in cash and transferred to Jazmyne Wike (20)
Sowore’s petition alleges the acquisitions, executed via quitclaim deeds between July 2021 and September 2023, bypassed banking oversight, raising “serious money laundering concerns.” It also contends that Wike did not declare the foreign assets to Nigeria’s Code of Conduct Bureau as legally required.
The petition notes that Wike’s official earnings since 1999 could not justify such purchases and cites potential violations of Florida state law and U.S. federal anti-money laundering statutes, including the Florida Money Laundering Act, the Florida Contraband Forfeiture Act, and federal laws under 18 U.S.C. §§ 1956 and 1957. It also references the U.S. Department of Justice’s Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative, which targets assets linked to corrupt foreign officials.
The document states, “Although the named grantor in the quitclaim deeds is his wife, Honourable Justice Eberechi Suzzette Nyesom-Wike, it is evident that the acquisitions and subsequent transfers to their children were undertaken in concert with her husband,” adding that her judicial salary could not reasonably support such luxury purchases.
Sowore further accused Wike of orchestrating “large-scale land grabs” in Abuja, allegedly transferring over 3,800 hectares worth $6.45 billion to his children through shell companies and proxies, suggesting a wider pattern of corruption throughout Wike’s political career.
The petition calls on the Florida Attorney General to probe the source of funds, initiate forfeiture proceedings on the Seminole County properties, prosecute all parties involved, and impose visa bans or sanctions to prevent further misuse of U.S. territory.
Adeyanju confirmed Sowore is ready to provide additional documents and testimony and collaborate with U.S.-based counsel. Copies of the petition were also sent to the U.S. Attorney General, Pam Bondi, and U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, Richard M. Mills Jr., with attached reports from Peoples Gazette and the relevant quitclaim deeds.
“The people of Nigeria have been impoverished for decades by the diversion of public funds,” the petition states. “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.”
