After Gazette exposé on Abuja land grab, businessman claims paying Wikes $2 million for 60 hectares

A businessman, Hamza Dantani, has accused the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and his first son, Jordan Wike, of defrauding him of $2.1 million in a deal to purchase hectares of land looted by the politician’s family in Abuja’s Katampe and Guzape districts.

According to court documents, Mr Dantani alleged that he was forced to deliver $2.1 million in cash at a house located in Gwarinpa, FCT in 2025.

The businessman alleged that he first met the FCT minister’s son in London and met again in Abuja three months later when they reached an agreement that he would help facilitate the acquisition of 30 hectares of land at Katampe and another 30 hectares at Guzape at a cost of $2.1 million.

The court heard how Mr Dantani how the younger Mr Wike informed the businessman that $2 million out of the payment belonged to the FCT minister while the son’s share of the transaction was merely $100,000. It was alleged that the payment was made in cash on September 26, 2025.

According to Mr Dantani, three persons, Adamu Sani, Aliyu Sarki, and Sai Wani were present when the cash was delivered. The court document showed that a companion of the minister’s son, Onor Sandy, witnessed the alleged transaction.

The businesseman alleged that following the payment, the FCT minister’s son was out of reach and he later discovered that the plots of land sold to him belonged to another person.

Mr Dantani told the court that he made efforts to seek a refund in October 2025 without success, prompting him to involve the minister.

The businessman met with the FCT minister in December, but the former Rivers governor was uncooperative and even threatened to arrest him, according to court filings.

The two areas—Katampe and Guzape—that Mr Dantani said he paid the Wikes for are among the property Peoples Gazette cited in exclusive reports last year exposing how the FCT minister allocated over 3,700 hectares of land in strategic locations in the FCT to his two sons Jordan and Joaquin.

The Gazette estimated the plots to be worth around $6.4 billion, with analysts saying the Wikes were not expected to retain all the looted land but intended to resell the properties at lucrative prices.

The FCT minister’s spokesman, Lere Olayinka, could not comment on the lawsuit. (Peoples Gazette)