By Muhammad Mamman
The United States has warned that corrupt Nigerian officials will face visa bans, stressing that accountability has no limits.
In a statement issued via its official X handle on Monday, the U.S. Mission in Nigeria said: “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 warning followed a petition against Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, over alleged unlawful acquisition of multimillion-dollar properties in Florida.
Activist Omoyele Sowore, through his lawyer Deji Adeyanju, petitioned the Florida attorney general on 22 September, urging prosecution and asset forfeiture, alongside sanctions and visa bans.
The petition alleged Wike and his wife, Justice Eberechi Nyesom-Wike of the Court of Appeal, secretly bought three luxury lakeside homes between 2021 and 2023, worth over $6 million, transferring them to their children. All transactions were said to have been executed in cash through quitclaim deeds, a method alleged to conceal ownership.
It further claimed Wike failed to declare the assets to Nigeria’s Code of Conduct Bureau, breaching constitutional provisions and multiple U.S. and Florida laws.
Wike, one of President Bola Tinubu’s key ministers, has yet to respond to the allegations.
