US Warns Corrupt Nigerian Officials of Visa Ban Amid Petition Against FCT Minister Wike
The United States has declared that corrupt Nigerian government officials will face visa restrictions, stressing that accountability has no borders. The U.S. Mission in Nigeria issued the warning on Monday, September 22, 2025, via its official X handle, reaffirming its commitment to fighting corruption without limitations.
“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 statement read.
The warning comes shortly after Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike was petitioned before U.S. authorities over alleged unlawful acquisition of multimillion-dollar properties in Florida. In a petition dated September 22, 2025, activist Omoyele Sowore, through his lawyer Deji Adeyanju, urged the Florida attorney general, James Uthmeier, to prosecute Wike for alleged money laundering and initiate forfeiture proceedings against the assets. The petition also called for U.S. sanctions and visa bans against the minister.
According to the petition, Wike and his wife, Justice Eberechi Nyesom-Wike of Nigeria’s Court of Appeal, allegedly purchased three luxury lakeside homes in Winter Springs, Seminole County, between 2021 and 2023, using cash transactions and quitclaim deeds to conceal ownership. 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 listed homes include:
- 113 Springcreek Lane, purchased for $535,000 and transferred to Jordan.
- 209 Hertherwood Court, purchased for $459,157 and transferred to Joaquin.
- 208 Hertherwood Court, purchased for $465,000 and transferred to Jazmyne.
The petition alleges that Wike failed to declare the properties to Nigeria’s Code of Conduct Bureau, violating the Fifth Schedule of the 1999 Constitution, and breached several U.S. and Florida statutes, including the Florida Money Laundering Act (§896.101), the Contraband Forfeiture Act (§932.701–707), and federal money laundering laws (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 stated.
Wike, one of President Bola Tinubu’s most prominent ministers, has not yet responded to the allegations. The U.S. Mission’s statement has heightened scrutiny of Nigerian officials with unexplained wealth and could trigger wider repercussions for those implicated in corruption-related cases.
