A tense standoff erupted in Abuja on Tuesday as armed military personnel prevented the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and officials of the FCT Administration from accessing a disputed plot of land in the Gaduwa District.
The confrontation occurred at Plot 1946, Buffer Transit, Southern Parkway, where Mr. Wike had led a team from the FCT Department of Development Control to halt what the ministry described as an illegal development allegedly linked to retired Vice Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo, a former Chief of Naval Staff.
Video footage circulating on social media captured the dramatic encounter, showing soldiers blocking the entrance to the site with a truck, preventing bulldozers from accessing the property for demolition. The armed personnel stood their ground despite the presence of the FCT Minister and his entourage.
During the heated exchange, Mr. Wike challenged the military officers’ actions, insisting that no individual is above the law regardless of their position or status. “Because you are an officer? Nobody does that. The man took land because he was the Chief of Naval Staff?” the former Rivers State Governor questioned.
When one of the soldiers interrupted to defend the legitimacy of the land acquisition, claiming he was “an officer with integrity” who acquired everything legally, the situation intensified. The minister ordered him to remain silent, but the officer refused, responding: “I will not shut up.”
This defiance further provoked Mr. Wike, who retorted: “You are a very big fool. As at the time I graduated, you were still in primary school.”
An official accompanying the minister was heard protesting to the soldiers: “This is unprofessional. You cannot be threatening a minister like this.”
The military personnel, however, remained unmoved, insisting they were following orders from superior authorities. Reports indicate that the officers physically prevented the minister from entering the site, with some allegedly shoving him aside.
After making and receiving several phone calls, including one reportedly with the Chief of Defence Staff, Mr. Wike eventually withdrew from the scene but vowed that the illegal construction would not proceed. “You send soldiers to intimidate who? We are all from this country. If not for the Chief of Defence Staff who spoke to me now, you would have to kill everybody here. I’m not one of those that you can intimidate,” the minister declared.
Speaking to journalists after the incident, Mr. Wike accused the retired naval officer of attempting to use his former status to intimidate government officials and bypass due process. “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,” he stated.
The minister further emphasized that the same standards of enforcement applied throughout the FCT would be maintained in Gaduwa. “The way we have done and 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 is a former Chief of Naval Staff. I would not allow that,” Mr. Wike asserted.
According to Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant to the FCT Minister, the confrontation stemmed from an ongoing dispute over the land. He alleged that Vice Admiral Gambo deployed armed military security personnel to the site after being instructed to stop building on land for which he has no title document or building approval.
Vice Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo served as the 21st Chief of Naval Staff of Nigeria from January 2021 until June 2023, when he was succeeded by Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla. He was appointed to the position by former President Muhammadu Buhari.
The incident has raised questions about the deployment of military personnel in civil land disputes and the enforcement of urban development regulations in the nation’s capital.
As at the time of this report, neither the Nigerian military nor the Federal Capital Territory Administration had issued an official statement on the matter. Vice Admiral Gambo has also not publicly addressed the allegations.
Land disputes and unauthorized developments have remained persistent challenges in Abuja. Since assuming office in August 2023, Mr. Wike has pursued an aggressive enforcement campaign, ordering multiple demolitions of structures the administration considers illegal. The minister has consistently maintained his commitment to restoring the Abuja Master Plan and ensuring compliance with proper planning approvals.
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