The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, and a group of military officers clashed on Tuesday over alleged land-grabbing at the Gaduwa District in Abuja.
A video obtained by our correspondent showed the visibly angry minister exchanging words with an unidentified officer at Plot 1946, Buffer Transit, Southern Parkway, a site the FCT Administration said belonged to retired Vice Admiral Gambo.
In the footage, Wike was seen accusing the officer of illegally taking possession of the parcel of land, questioning why the military was laying claim to the property simply because it was linked to a former Chief of Naval Staff.
“Because you are an officer? Nobody does that. The man took land because he was the Chief of Naval Staff?” Wike queried.
The officer in military camouflage who interrupted the minister, insisted that the acquisition was legitimate.
“I am an officer with integrity. Everything was acquired legally,” he said.
Wike, angered by the interjection, ordered him to be quiet, but the officer fired back, saying, “I will not shut up.”
Wike retorted, “You are a very big fool. As of the time I graduated, you were still in primary school.”
The officer maintained his stance, insisting that he was deployed to the site on official orders.
“You will see if you will not leave here. Go and develop there and let me see,” Wike warned as the standoff intensified.
The confrontation began when Wike and senior officials of the FCT Administration arrived at the site to stop an ongoing development the ministry described as illegal.
Armed military personnel could be seen blocking the entrance to the plot with a truck, preventing bulldozers from the Department of Development Control from accessing the site for demolition.
The officers allegedly shoved the minister aside, declaring that they were acting on superior instructions.
Wike, who eventually turned back after making and receiving several calls, vowed that the illegal construction would not continue.
Speaking to journalists after the incident, the minister accused the retired naval officer of attempting to use his status to intimidate government officials.
“I don’t understand how somebody who attained that position and said that he has a problem cannot approach my office to say, look, this is what is going on.
“But simply because he’s a military man, he could use that to intimidate Nigerians. I’m not one of those kind of persons that will succumb to blackmail or intimidation,” Wike said.
He added that the officers on-site failed to produce valid documents authorising the development.
“You can imagine where you cannot even prove the documents. And the Director of Development Control said, look, I was here. I said bring the documents, you don’t have the documents. Bring the approval for building, you don’t have it. And how can we continue to allow lawlessness to prevail in this country?,” he quiery
Wike further questioned what ordinary citizens without military backing were expected to do when faced with such situations.
“What about those who don’t have the military? What about those who don’t have security? It has gotten to a level where, when government officials are carrying out their job, you go and bring security to intimidate them. And this government official — I will not accept that,” he said.
The minister disclosed that he had already spoken with the Chief of Defence Staff and the Chief of Naval Staff about the incident.
Wike said, “I’ve spoken to the Chief of Defence Staff and I’ve spoken to the Chief of Naval Staff and they have assured me that they have to resolve the matter. We’re not coming here to have a shootout with anybody or to cause chaos.
“But what I can say, I would not allow it to happen. The way we have carried out our jobs in other areas is the same way it will be done here. He will not carry out this illegal development on land simply because he was a former Chief of Naval Staff. I would not allow that.”
Land disputes and illegal allocations have been a recurring problem in the Federal Capital Territory. The FCT Administration, under Wike, has intensified efforts to curb unauthorised developments and restore the Abuja Master Plan through demolitions and enforcement drives.
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