HEDA petitions ICPC for urgent probe of Nyesom Wike’s multibillion-dollar Abuja land grab for family

The Human and Environmental Development Agenda has filed a petition with the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, demanding an urgent investigation into the alleged massive Abuja lands grab by FCT minister Nyesom Wike.

The petition followed media reports detailing how Wike allocated hectares of land worth billions of dollars to his two sons, Joaquin and Jordan, in the Abuja metropolis, contrary to the Code of Conduct for Public Officers.

In a petition signed by its chairman, Olanrewaju Suraju, over the weekend, HEDA described Mr Wike’s land allocations as “reckless abuse of office and primitive diversion and accumulation of public assets,” adding that it reflected a broader pattern of politically motivated land grab in Abuja.

“HEDA has called on the ICPC to review all land allocations signed by Minister Wike since assumption of office in 2023; recover the plots corruptly allocated to JOAQ Farms and Estates Ltd; investigate the involvement of Hon. Kingsley Chinda, a known associate and alleged front of Mr. Wike; request President Bola Tinubu to interdict Minister Wike to allow for impartial investigation; and prosecute all individuals found culpable in accordance with the law,” said the statement.

The resource centre further noted that it won a Freedom of Information case against the FCT minister in 2022 (suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/1517/2020), compelling the release of data on land allocations, and accusing Mr Wike of disobeying the judgment.

Affirming its readiness to support the anti-graft agency in its investigation, HEDA stated that its petition was in line with its commitment to transparency and the fight against corruption in the country.

Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu has ordered an investigation into the apparent corruption and abuse of office by the Abuja minister. However, the police in Abuja, instigated by Wike, arrested an innocent civil servant, amidst a frantic hunt for the source of exposé on the minister’s theft of Abuja lands for his children.

Intensifying the witch-hunt, the Federal Capital Territory Administration also issued a query to the civil servant, Hassan Mairiga.