Sowore Accuses Wike Of Diverting $300m Ogoniland Cleanup Funds To Build Supermarkets

Human rights activist Omoyele Sowore has accused the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, of diverting $300 million meant for the environmental remediation of Ogoniland into private business ventures in Port Harcourt.

Sowore, in a post on his verified X account on Friday, alleged that Wike used the funds to establish the HyperCity Supermarkets chain. He said the matter was recently mentioned in a document presented to President Bola Tinubu by an Ogoni delegation.

“This revelation, which is being hushed, had an honourable mention in a document presented by an Ogoni delegation to President Bola Tinubu at the Aso Rock Villa,” Sowore wrote, vowing to continue pushing for accountability.

The Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP), launched in 2016 after a UN report, was designed to clean up decades of oil pollution in Ogoniland. Funding for the project has long been a source of tension, with community leaders raising concerns about transparency.

Sowore’s fresh allegations come amid controversies over Wike’s alleged undisclosed properties in Florida, United States. Earlier this month, SaharaReporters published documents suggesting that Wike and his wife, Court of Appeal judge Justice Eberechi Nyesom-Wike, purchased luxury lakeside properties valued at more than $6 million and later transferred ownership to their children between 2021 and 2023.

Sowore has already petitioned Florida’s Attorney General, James Uthmeier, demanding investigation and possible forfeiture of the properties. He further claimed that Wike, as FCT Minister, has been involved in large-scale land allocations in Abuja through proxies, benefiting his children.

President Bola Tinubu appointed Wike as FCT Minister in August 2023. Sowore said steps were being taken to secure an international arrest warrant against him, stressing that “justice must catch up with Wike” for what he described as looting and abuse of public office.

Meanwhile, a group of Nigerian journalists has launched a petition on Change.org urging U.S. authorities to probe Wike’s alleged real estate acquisitions, warning that Florida should not become a safe haven for looted Nigerian funds.