The United States has declared that corrupt Nigerian government officials will face visa restrictions, reiterating that there is no limit on accountability.
The U.S. Mission in Nigeria gave the warning in a statement released on Monday via its official X handle.
“Fighting corruption knows no borders or limits on accountability. Even when high-profile individuals engage in corruption, they can be barred from receiving U.S. visas,” the Mission stated.
The warning comes just hours after Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, was petitioned before U.S. authorities over alleged unlawful acquisition of multimillion-dollar properties in Florida.
Activist Omoyele Sowore, in a petition dated September 22, 2025, asked the Florida attorney general, James Uthmeier, to prosecute Wike for alleged money laundering and to initiate forfeiture proceedings against the assets. The petition, signed by his lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, also urged U.S. authorities to impose sanctions and visa bans on the minister.
Citing Peoples Gazette’s September 1 report and backed with three claim deeds as exhibits, the petition alleged that Wike, with the assistance of his wife, Justice Eberechi Nyesom-Wike of Nigeria’s Court of Appeal, secretly purchased three luxury lakeside homes in Winter Springs, Seminole County, between 2021 and 2023. The properties, now valued at over $6 million, were said to have been transferred to their children — Jordan, 25, Joaquin, 23, and Jazmyne, 20.
The homes listed in the petition include 113 Springcreek Lane, purchased for $535,000 and transferred to Jordan; 209 Hertherwood Court, purchased for $459,157 and transferred to Joaquin; and 208 Hertherwood Court, purchased for $465,000 and transferred to Jazmyne.
All transactions were reportedly carried out in cash through quitclaim deeds, a method often used for family transfers but, according to the petition, deliberately employed to conceal ownership and evade oversight.
“These transactions, executed in cash and hidden under the names of his children, form a deliberate scheme to launder the proceeds of corruption into U.S. real estate,” the petition stated.
It further alleged that Wike failed to declare the properties to Nigeria’s Code of Conduct Bureau, in violation of the Fifth Schedule of the 1999 Constitution. Several U.S. and Florida statutes were also cited as having been breached, including the Florida Money Laundering Act (§896.101, Fla. Stat.), the Contraband Forfeiture Act (§932.701–707, Fla. Stat.), and federal laws on money laundering (18 U.S.C. §1956 and §1957).
“This brazen conduct, combined with his unexplained foreign acquisitions, suggests that Florida is being used as a safe haven for laundering the proceeds of corruption,” the petition added.
Wike is one of President Bola Tinubu’s most cherished ministers.
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