By Prevail Inegbenose
Media personality and former Presidential candidate of African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, has petitioned the Florida Attorney General, accusing the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike of using public funds to acquire properties in the US.
According to Sowore, Wike may have violated Florida State laws which forbid the use of fraudulent funds to acquire property in its jurisdiction.
In a post on his X handle, Sowore alleged that Wike has three different properties in Winter Springs, Florida which he purchased with laundered stolen funds, disclosing that all of the properties were hidden under the name of his wife, Eberechi Suzzette Nyesom-Wike.
Sowore wrote, “It turns out that international thief Nyesom Wike has three different properties in Winter Springs, Florida. All of them were hidden under the name of his wife, Eberechi Suzzette Nyesom-Wike, who also serves as a Court of Appeal judge in Nigeria, and shared out to his children.
“We have already contacted the Office of the Attorney General of Florida, James Uthmeier @AGJamesUthmeier , to notify them that Nyesom Ezenwo Wike @GovWike, has laundered stolen funds (proceeds of crime) to purchase and traffic properties in their state, which are first-class felonies.
“Florida State law prohibits anyone who has stolen or laundered money from using it to purchase property, and international thief @GovWike bought the mansion in cash but claimed his “in-laws’ purchased it for his wife and children. He’s about to find out in a very hard way!
“Florida’s Attorney General @AGJamesUthmeier must be made aware that money laundering and property trafficking crimes have occurred in his state, that several statutes in the State of Florida directly prohibit this criminal conduct, and Nigeria’s FCT Minister @GOVWike is about to find out”.
He stressed that the Florida State law prohibits anyone who has stolen or laundered money from using it to purchase property.
Referring to the FCT Minister as an international thief, he accused the former Governor of Rivers State of illegally concealing ownership of his Florida properties by placing them under the names of his children and wife, who is herself a public official (a Court of Appeal judge) in Nigeria.
According to him, Wike’s crimes, among others, fall squarely under organizing or directing trafficking in stolen property, a first-degree felony under Florida Statute § 812.019, punishable by up to 30 years in prison.
“Nyesom Ezenwo WIKE, Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory Minister, illegally grabbed land in Abuja for his family, but he could never escape his $2 million illegally acquired mansion, which is a property trafficking crime in Florida, USA”, Sowore added.
Reacting to this, an X user @BriefCastNg, wrote “Allegations this weighty should not be tried on Twitter. Nigeria has strong anti-corruption institutions empowered to investigate and prosecute. If anyone has evidence, the right step is to present it before the courts or relevant authorities. Governance should not be distracted by endless social media trials let the law take its full course”.
Abuja Times reports that Wike is yet to react to the allegations.