The controversy surrounding Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, has reached new heights with revelations about his secret acquisition of multimillion-dollar properties in Florida.
At the heart of the controversy is Wike’s apparent attempt to amend his asset declaration with Nigeria’s Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) to include properties recently exposed in Florida and other foreign locations.
However, CCB officials informed him that his original declaration had already been forwarded to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for thorough verification and investigation.
Sources within the minister’s camp revealed that the move has left Wike unsettled.
Extensive investigations into publicly available documents and property records in the United States expose a troubling pattern of concealment and apparent violations of Nigeria’s asset declaration laws by the minister.
Records obtained exclusively by some media outlets reveal that Wike acquired a $2 million mansion in Winter Springs, Florida, registered not in his name but discreetly under the names of his wife, Justice Eberechi Wike, and their three children.
The acquisition took place through a private transaction in March 2025, deliberately structured to evade direct ownership disclosure by the minister himself.
The mansion, a two-storey structure, was built on over 4,000 square feet.
Further examination revealed that three multimillion-dollar homes in affluent Florida communities were purchased covertly using cash transactions and swiftly transferred to their children via quitclaim deeds, executed by Wike’s wife, who is a senior judicial officer in Nigeria.
These transactions, spanning from 2021 to 2023, all maintained an air of secrecy consistent with attempts to keep assets beyond the regulatory grasp of Nigerian anti-corruption bodies such as the CCB, EFCC, and ICPC (Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission).
Nigeria’s law mandates full disclosure of assets held by public officials, both domestic and foreign. Yet, Wike’s initial asset declaration conspicuously omitted these foreign properties.
“The CCB, upon receiving a request from Wike to amend his declaration to acknowledge these properties, had to inform him that his file had already been transmitted to the EFCC for verification.
“EFCC is now conducting a forensic audit of Wike’s declarations, ownership details, and possible infractions,” a source in the CCB told Metro Daily.
Meanwhile, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), advocacy groups, and international NGOs have launched vocal campaigns demanding an exhaustive probe into Wike’s financial dealings.
They stated that the allegations go beyond mere undeclared assets to include suspected diversion of public funds and illicit enrichment.
Wike’s camp has denied the allegations, dismissing them as politically motivated attacks aimed at undermining his stature and influence.
The minister has challenged accusers to provide evidence, projecting himself as a target of a political witch-hunt rather than an accountable public official.
However, the documentary evidence filed in US property registries tells a different story.
A source in the EFCC, who pleaded not to be named, said the minister is “playing with fire.”
“His words: “He should keep denying. But what I can say is, the CCB’s initial receipt and forwarding of Wike’s asset declaration to the EFCC is a procedural matter. It is part of our mandate to uphold integrity in public service.
“The ongoing forensic financial investigations will definitely uncover the truth.”
