Wike denies claims of allocating over 2,000 hectares in Maitama and Asokoro to his son, insists land was for agriculture in Bwari.
President Bola Tinubu has reportedly ordered an investigation into the alleged corruption and abuse of office by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, over claims that he secretly allocated over 2,000 hectares of land in Abuja’s Maitama and Asokoro districts to his son.
According to reports, the president issued the directive on Thursday night following media reports about the suspected land transactions. Sources from the State House said the president found the allegations suspicious and directed a probe to determine whether Wike had illegally enriched himself.
“The president agreed that the minister’s activity as reported in the media was suspicious and ordered a probe to determine if he had illegally enriched himself,” a presidential aide said on Friday.
The investigation is expected to be coordinated by the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), though it remains unclear whether anti-graft agencies like the EFCC or ICPC will be involved. The SGF’s office has not officially commented on the development.
The report, which first surfaced online, alleged that Wike allocated approximately 2,082 hectares of land in Asokoro and Maitama to his son, through a company named JOAQ Farms and Estate Limited. Municipal officials reportedly stated that the land, initially approved for agricultural purposes, could be worth over $3.6 billion.
The publication claimed that the land award was a cover for personal gain and directly violated Article 5 of the Fifth Schedule of the Nigerian Constitution, which prohibits the use of public office for personal benefit.
However, in a swift reaction, Wike, through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, categorically denied the allegations, describing them as false and malicious.
Olayinka said, “Not even a single plot of land has been allocated to any of the minister’s children.” He accused the publishers of spreading lies and described them as “quack journalists who lack basic training in journalism.”
“In Asokoro and Maitama of today, where can the FCT minister see 2,082 hectares of land to allocate to anyone? Only quack journalists will go to town with the story of allocation of 2,082 hectares of land in Asokoro and Maitama,” Olayinka said in a press statement.
He emphasized that Wike and his family have a constitutional right to own land in Nigeria, provided they meet all legal conditions, but insisted that no such allocations had been made to the minister’s children.
Olayinka explained that JOAQ Farms and Estate Limited was only allocated land for farming purposes in the Bwari Area Council, not in Maitama or Asokoro. “For the avoidance of doubt, JOAQ Farms and Estate Limited, a company duly registered in Nigeria, got land allocation in Bwari Area Council for farming. So what’s wrong with a farmer getting land allocation strictly for agriculture?” he queried.
The online report that triggered the probe cited the Right of Occupancy issued to JOAQ Farms as the primary evidence for the land allocation, but Olayinka insists the claims are baseless and should be disregarded.
Anti-corruption activist Lanre Suraju has called for a rigorous and transparent investigation to ensure the process does not suffer the same fate as other past inquiries that were poorly executed. He urged that the panel’s proceedings be made public and involve experienced investigators, including forensic experts.
As of press time, a spokesman for Wike declined to say whether the minister would cooperate with the investigation.
