Sowore Petitions Florida Attorney-General Over Wike’s Alleged Properties

…Demands Forfeiture, Visa Ban

Former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) in the 2023 election, Omoyele Sowore, has petitioned the Attorney-General of Florida, James Uthmeier, demanding the forfeiture and prosecution of alleged multi-million-dollar properties secretly acquired in the United States by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Ezenwo Nyesom Wike.

In a petition signed by his counsel, Deji Adeyanju, dated September 22, Sowore alleged that Wike, alongside his wife, Justice Eberechi Suzzette Nyesom-Wike of the Nigerian Court of Appeal, unlawfully purchased three lakeside properties in Winter Springs, Florida, worth over $6m.

The petition claimed the acquisitions were “conducted entirely in cash, thereby circumventing banking oversight and raising significant money laundering concerns.”

According to the documents, the properties include 113 Springcreek Lane, purchased for $535,000 and transferred to Jordan Wike; 209 Hertherwood Court, purchased for $459,157 and transferred to Joaquin Wike; and 208 Hertherwood Court, purchased for $465,000 and transferred to Jazmyne Wike.

The petition stressed that Wike, “a career politician with no record of legitimate private enterprise,” could not have earned the income to fund such acquisitions, adding that the assets were not declared to Nigeria’s Code of Conduct Bureau in violation of constitutional obligations.

Sowore, in his petition, stated that, “The evident pattern in this case involves large cash acquisitions by a long-serving public officer with no legitimate private earnings, the immediate transfer of title to his children, and the concealment of true beneficial ownership.

“This conduct falls within the prohibitions of Florida’s anti-money laundering statutes and triggers the attendant consequences of forfeiture, prosecution, and civil penalties.

“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,” he stated.

The petition, therefore, prayed the Florida Attorney-General to investigate the source of funds, institute forfeiture proceedings, prosecute those involved, and impose a visa ban on Wike.

Copies of the petition were also sent to the U.S. Department of Justice and the American Embassy in Nigeria.