Human rights activist and former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, has accused the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, of diverting $300million intended for the cleanup of Ogoniland into the construction of supermarkets in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Sowore, who also leads the #RevolutionNow Movement, made the claim on Friday in a post shared on his verified X (formerly Twitter) account. He alleged that Wike used the funds to build the ‘HyperCity Supermarkets’ chain in the Rivers capital.
“The revelation is that thieving Nyesom Ezenwo Wike diverted $300million earmarked for Ogoniland’s remediation and development,” Sowore wrote.
According to him, “Reports indicate that Wike funnelled the funds into constructing a chain of supermarkets in Port Harcourt, known as HyperCity Supermarkets.”
Sowore added that the issue had recently been presented to President Bola Tinubu by an Ogoni delegation during a visit to the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
“This revelation, which is being hushed, was honourably mentioned in a document submitted by an Ogoni delegation to President Bola Tinubu at the Aso Rock Villa the day before yesterday,” he explained.
The activist further vowed that efforts to hold Wike accountable for alleged looting and abuse of public resources would continue.
“We will not stop until Wike is brought to justice, or justice is brought to him, for the unprecedented looting, killings, and destruction he has inflicted on Nigerians,” Sowore said.
The Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP), established in 2016 after the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report, was tasked with overseeing the cleanup of Ogoniland, which has suffered decades of oil pollution.
However, the management of funds allocated for the project has long been controversial, with stakeholders in the Niger Delta repeatedly raising questions about transparency and accountability.
Sowore’s allegations also resurface at a time when Wike faces scrutiny over undeclared assets in Florida, USA. He was said to have transferred ownership of these properties to his children.
On Monday, September 22, SaharaReporters revealed that Sowore had petitioned the Attorney General of Florida, Hon. James Uthmeier, demanding Wike’s prosecution and the forfeiture of his alleged illicit assets in the United States.
In the petition, dated September 22, 2025, and signed by Sowore’s lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, Esq., Wike was accused of secretly buying multi-million-dollar properties in Florida through questionable cash transactions designed to hide the origins of the funds.
According to the petition, Wike, a former Rivers State governor, and his wife, Justice Eberechi Suzzette Nyesom-Wike of the Court of Appeal, purchased three lakeside homes in Winter Springs, Seminole County, Florida, worth over $6million.
SaharaReporters had earlier reported on Sunday, September 21, that Quit Claim Deeds it obtained showed that Wike and his wife transferred ownership of the properties to their children between 2021 and 2023.
One deed, executed on July 22, 2021, showed that Eberechi Nyesom-Wike, of 653 Dunblane Drive, Winter Park, Florida, transferred ownership of a property to herself and her son, Joaquin Chibuike Nyesom-Wike, as joint tenants with right of survivorship.
Another deed, dated July 27, 2021, showed that she transferred another Florida property to herself and Jordan Ezenwo Nyesom-Wike, also listed as joint tenants with right of survivorship.
Beyond Florida, Sowore accused Wike, in his current role as FCT Minister, of engaging in “large-scale land grabs” in Abuja, claiming he allocated over 3,800 hectares of land, valued at $6.45billion, to his children through shell companies and proxies.
It would be recalled that President Bola Tinubu appointed Wike as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory in August 2023.
Sowore also disclosed that efforts were underway to secure an international arrest warrant against Wike, with a view to extraditing him to the United States over allegations of money laundering.
In addition, SaharaReporters reported on Tuesday that a group of Nigerian journalists, led by Yinka Tella, filed a petition urging U.S. authorities to investigate Wike’s alleged real estate acquisitions in Florida.
The petition, initiated by Imoh Oton on Change.org, is titled “Investigate real estate fraud by Nigerian minister Nyesom Wike in Florida.” It was addressed to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Florida State government.
The petitioners argued that if Wike is found guilty of fraudulent practices, the U.S. must act firmly, stressing that Florida must not serve as a haven for looted Nigerian funds.
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