Human rights lawyer and former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Chidi Anselm Odinkalu, has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to relieve the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, of his position, accusing him of corruption, misconduct, and poor governance.
The call was contained in a strongly worded statement issued on Sunday.
Odinkalu’s statement came a day after Lere Olayinka, spokesperson to the FCT Minister, released what the lawyer described as a “desperate and incoherent” response targeting his person.
In the statement titled “It’s Time for President Bola Tinubu to Put FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, Out of His Misery,” Odinkalu said the minister should be focusing on fixing Abuja’s infrastructure rather than attacking private citizens.
“As Minister for the FCT, Mr. Wike currently presides over a 21st-century city overwhelmed by the stench of human faeces occasioned by the collapse of the sewage system. Yet, I distract him,” Odinkalu said.
He noted that his engagement in public affairs is rooted in advocacy and education, not politics. “I’m a private citizen. I teach; I write; and I engage in advocacy on matters of legal and public significance,” he explained. “Because I consider this a total waste of public resources, it’s important that citizens hear from me directly.”
The lawyer accused Wike of evading accountability over what he described as “well-founded allegations” of criminal violence, electoral manipulation, looting of public assets, money laundering, and judicial corruption.
Odinkalu alleged that Wike’s political record is tainted by “habitual use of public office for personal enrichment,” claiming the minister had even “purchased a seat for life” on the Body of Benchers — the elite council of Nigeria’s legal profession — through undue influence.
“His membership of the Body of Benchers remains an indelible blot on what is supposed to be a body of legal practitioners of the highest distinction,” Odinkalu said, adding that the minister “struts Nigeria’s public space with impunity and arrogance, peddling influence and abusing public assets habitually for his private gain.”
He also accused Wike of sustaining “a habit of dependence on expensive alcoholic beverages,” which he claimed had become “a danger both to his wellbeing and to the public good.”
Odinkalu urged President Tinubu to act decisively, saying the FCT Minister’s conduct is inconsistent with the standards expected of public officeholders.
“It is not too late for Mr. Wike to seek help for his unhealthy addiction,” he stated. “But for that to happen, he must vacate the high office he holds. And if he chooses not to, the President should, as an act of compassion, take immediate steps to put him out of his misery.”
As of press time, Mr. Wike or his spokesperson, Lere Olayinka, had yet to issue a response to the fresh allegations.
