Reuters has found no public record or official statement showing that U.S. President Donald Trump or the White House labeled Nigeria’s Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, “one of the most wanted men in the world.” The claim, widely shared on social media, falsely alleged that Trump ordered European authorities to arrest Wike.
Facebook posts published on November 8 said Trump issued a “global warrant” for Wike’s arrest after intelligence reports linked him to alleged killings of Igbo civilians during unrest in Rivers State. The posts also claimed that Trump told international agencies to capture Wike “dead or alive.”
No trace of any U.S. action or statement
Reuters reviewed official U.S. government channels, including the White House and State Department websites, and found no announcement matching the language of these claims. There were also no credible reports from U.S. or European authorities confirming such an order.
A spokesperson for Wike dismissed the allegations as “one of the lies,” telling Reuters that neither he nor his office had been contacted about any supposed warrant.
Trump did recently criticize Nigeria over alleged violence against Christians, threatening to take action unless the government intervened. However, his remarks made no mention of Wike or any criminal designation.
Background on the Rivers State unrest
The false posts referenced the 2020 “Obi-Igbo crisis,” when Wike, then governor of Rivers State, imposed a curfew after violent clashes during nationwide anti-police-brutality protests. Rights groups later accused security forces of killing civilians in Oyigbo, about 30 kilometers from Port Harcourt, but Wike and federal authorities denied the allegations.
That same year, Wike also enforced the federal ban on the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a separatist movement seeking independence for Nigeria’s Igbo-majority southeast.
verdict
No evidence supports the claim. There is no record that Trump or any U.S. agency called Nyesom Wike a “most-wanted” figure or issued an international warrant for his arrest.
