Last Christmas, Nyesom Wike challenged Nigerians who accused him of stealing lands from everyday citizens for himself and his cronies under his purported policy against dormant allocations to come forward with evidence.

Now, it appeared the Abuja minister knew his accusers were onto something, but brushed aside those allegations because he had no expectation of being exposed—or ever facing the consequences of his brazen corruption.

Peoples Gazette is still poring through a cornucopia of Abuja land allocations signed by Mr Wike since he assumed office in August 2023. Still, our early review has demonstrated how the minister prioritised allotments to his immediate family members, spurning federal regulations against abusing public office for personal enrichment.

While the legislation controlling land administration did not appear to contain sections that specifically ban a minister in charge of the federal capital from granting a piece of land to a family member, the transactions Mr Wike approved for his son were far-reaching and systemic enough to constitute illicit self-dealing, according to two officials in the minister’s office.

Because The Gazette found that Mr Wike did not pay ground rent, title registration and survey fees for the assets, his action also contravenes the code of conduct for public officers as enumerated in the Nigerian Constitution’s Fifth Schedule.

Joaquin Wike, the minister’s last of two sons, has received at least 2,000 hectares, or 40,000 plots, in Maitama, Asokoro, Guzape and other parts of Abuja, The Gazette found from documents and officials.

Officials estimated that the hectares Mr Wike has issued to his son, along with certificates of occupancy, are worth at least $3.6 billion. A plot in Maitama and Asokoro, where Mr Wike gave his son at least seven hectares total, was recently sold for $1.28 and $1.4 million, respectively, according to documents reviewed by The Gazette.

Mr Wike’s action was so brazen that when aides told him he needed to exercise caution, he dismissed their warnings, saying he wanted his children to be the largest landowners in the nation’s capital.

“When we told the minister in April that he needed to slow down on frequent allocations to his own children, he said he was just starting because his goal was to make them the largest landowners in Abuja,” an aide said, discussing the minister’s conduct under anonymity. “We’ve worked with ministers before him, but we have never seen anything even remotely comparable to this.”

Most of the allocations are in developing communities, such as Kwaita, Bwari, and Gaduwa, where sources said Mr Wike carefully selected them for their medium to long-term commercial prospects.

While it was unclear when the scheme was devised, documents showed Mr Wike started allocating the lands to Joaquin days after a company named after him was registered in October 2024.

The company, Joaq Farms and Estates Ltd, was registered on October 10, 2024. Barely a week later, on October 17, 2024, Mr Wike allocated 350 hectares to the business via file number 155882 and certificate of occupancy number 0000162.

The company listed its address as 13, Thaba Tseka Street, Wuse II, with Thaba mispelled on the documents as Theba. The address has long been associated with Mr Wike and his numerous fronts in the Nigerian capital, The Gazette learnt.

On February 25, 2025, Mr Wike approved at least six certificates of occupancy for lands allocated to Joaquin across the Federal Capital Territory, according to records reviewed by The Gazette. The documents were in file series 159134, 159136, 159137, 159138, 159139 and 159140. While The Gazette could not obtain file 159135, officials said its allocation also went to Joaq Farms.

As recently as May 30, Mr Wike personally signed the allocation of about 2.3 hectares for his son in Gaduwa District, where development has intensified in recent years.

The minister also seized land in the Central Area that was previously granted to the Austrian mission in Nigeria, reallocating the lucrative assets to himself.

The Gazette’s review showed Mr Wike allocated roughly 2,082 hectares to Joaq Farms between October 2024 and May 2025. Officials stated that Mr Wike approved more than 3,500 hectares for his son, but they were unable to provide the documents before this publication.

Officials said Joaquin can easily earn more than $3.6 billion on the assets, emphasising this was a conservative estimate.

“He has certificates of occupancy for all the lands, that’s what makes it even more lucrative,” an official said. The officials spoke under anonymity to avoid being targeted by Mr Wike, who’s an infamous alcoholic with a documented history of violence.

Officials stated that the minister has prioritised acquiring as many assets as possible, despite failing to pay the salaries of municipal employees.

Several departments under the Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA, have gone several months without pay, including those attached to its broadcasting, environmental protection and water bureaus.

Little is known about the younger Wike, as he has kept a low profile since finishing high school in September 2020. However, in recent months, he has become a regular feature of his father’s public appearances, often alongside his elder brother, Jordan.

Mr Wike, who was Rivers’ governor from 2015 to 2023, said he was grooming his children to take over his political structure. He was sworn in as minister on August 21, 2023, after allegedly sabotaging his party, the PDP, to help President Bola Tinubu eke out a victory in the February 2023 presidential election.

While Mr Wike has been a member of the Tinubu-led APC cabinet, he has refused to quit his membership of PDP, the country’s main opposition bloc, often using his position to drive the party from crisis to crisis.

The Gazette learnt that at least five plots out of the 2.3 hectares Mr Wike allocated to his son were seized from a middle-class family, who declined to comment to avoid being further targeted by the minister, even on the new property they relocated to.

A spokesman for Mr Wike said he was unaware of the minister’s use of public office to advance personal wealth.

“I am not aware of any development as such and can’t give comments on what I don’t have knowledge of,” Lere Olayinka said, declining to elaborate or say whether or not he had discussed the matter with his principal.

How much the president knew about Mr Wike’s reckless looting of lands across the federal capital remained unclear. A State House source said Mr Wike’s behaviour had raised severe concern for the administration, but there was no clear way of dealing with him yet.

“Let me be honest with you and tell you that Nyesom Wike is a serious liability to the Tinubu administration,” an aide to the president said. “While we’re focused on tackling the economy and insecurity, he’s busy seizing lands from Abuja residents and reallocating them to himself.”

The official said the president might not have the courage to deal with Mr Wike anytime soon, especially as he wouldn’t want to create a fissure within his ranks amidst a looming general election.

“The president would eventually have to decide on what to do with the minister,” the official said. “But predicting whether that is going to be before or after the election is beyond my service charge.”

Under existing laws, Mr Tinubu is the custodian of all lands across the Nigerian capital. At the same time, the minister, appointed by the president, acts as the administrator executing the president’s priorities for the territory.

Anti-corruption campaigner Patience Okonkwo said Mr Wike’s action should trigger an immediate and expansive probe of land administration under his watch.

“If I can speak on the documents I am seeing here, then I’d say this is unconscionable,” Mrs Okonkwo said after being shown the files by The Gazette. “This takes public graft to a new level, and consequences should be severe in a serious country.”