Military veterans across Nigeria have expressed strong disapproval following a confrontation between the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and naval officer Lieutenant A.M. Yerima over a disputed land in Abuja on Tuesday, November 11, 2025.
The Federal Government, through the Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru, has announced that an investigation is underway. Speaking at a press briefing to mark the commencement of activities for the 2026 Armed Forces Remembrance Day at the National Defence College in Abuja, Badaru commended Lieutenant Yerima for maintaining composure during the heated encounter.
“At the ministry, and indeed the Armed Forces, we will always protect our officers on lawful duty,” Badaru stated. “We are looking into this issue and assure that any officer performing his duties lawfully will be highly protected.”
The incident occurred when Wike visited Plot 1946 in the Gaduwa District of Abuja during an enforcement operation. The FCT minister confronted armed military personnel who were guarding the property on the instruction of former Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo (retd.). Wike alleged that the retired naval chief had illegally acquired the land.
A video that circulated widely online captured the visibly angry minister in a heated exchange with Lieutenant Yerima. In the footage, Wike questioned the presence of military officers at the site and demanded documentation proving ownership. “Show me the document you have. You have no document,” the minister was heard saying.
The naval officer responded that he was acting on orders and possessed relevant documents. The situation escalated when Wike reportedly told the officer: “Shut up your mouth! When I was in school, you had not even resumed school. You are a big fool!”
Lieutenant Yerima maintained his professional stance throughout, repeatedly stating: “I am not a fool, sir. I am acting on instructions, and I am a commissioned officer.”
The confrontation has drawn reactions from prominent Nigerians. Former Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai, who served between 2015 and 2021, issued a strong statement calling for an immediate public apology from Wike.
“The events of November 11, 2025, involving the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory demand an immediate and serious response,” Buratai wrote on his Facebook page. “His public disparagement of a uniformed officer of the Nigerian Armed Forces transcends mere misconduct; it represents a palpable threat to national security and institutional integrity.”
Buratai described the minister’s conduct as profound indiscipline that undermines the chain of command and disrespects the authority of President Bola Tinubu as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.
Retired Brigadier General Peter Aro emphasized the importance of respecting proper channels in democratic governance. “The clash goes beyond personalities; it reflects how power should and should not be exercised in a democracy,” Aro said. “The officer was acting under lawful orders from his superior. His duty was to obey the chain of command, not to improvise under political pressure.”
While acknowledging the minister’s right to question land titles, Aro criticized the approach adopted by the former Rivers State governor. “The minister had every right to raise questions about the land, but only through lawful channels such as writing to the Minister of Defence, the Chief of Defence Staff, or approaching the courts,” he explained.
Another retired military officer, Brigadier General Bashir Adewinbi, described the incident as unacceptable. “I did not expect a minister to behave like that toward a commissioned officer. The military is under the command of the President. Any confrontation with a military officer is, by extension, a confrontation with the Commander-in-Chief.”
The Coalition of Military Veterans, through its spokesperson Abiodun Durowaiye-Herberts, issued a stern warning. “If for any reason the officer is punished, military veterans will occupy the office and residence of the FCT Minister,” he declared. The group demanded that Wike issue a public apology for using abusive language against a security personnel carrying out official duties.
Presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi, described the altercation as a reflection of Nigeria’s deepening institutional disorder. In a statement posted on his X account titled “Wike versus Naval Officer: A Lesson for National Reflection,” Obi called the incident “yet another unfortunate reflection of the growing institutional disorder in our country.”
“What should ordinarily be a routine civic encounter has, once again, become a national embarrassment, a typical example coming out of a disgraced country,” Obi wrote. He questioned why military personnel continue to be deployed for civil operations and why government officials often act beyond proper institutional boundaries.
Defending the minister’s actions, Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant on Publicity and Communications to the FCT minister, explained on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme that the disputed land was originally allocated in 2007 to Santos Estate Limited for park and recreation purposes.
“The company did not do anything on the land because that place is a parkway, a walkway, a road corridor. You don’t build there,” Olayinka said. He claimed that the company illegally partitioned and sold portions of the land after the FCT Administration declined its 2022 request to change the land use from park to commercial.
According to Olayinka, Vice Admiral Gambo was a victim of this land scam. “The Chief of Naval Staff was scammed. Instead of coming out to seek help, he resorted to using military might,” he stated.
Legal opinions on the matter remain divided. Constitutional law expert and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Professor Sebastine Hon, condemned Lieutenant Yerima’s actions, describing them as a “breach of the law.” In a Facebook post, Hon argued that the officer’s obstruction of the FCT minister could not be justified under any lawful military order.
“The duty of a junior officer to obey the orders of his superiors has its own limitations recognized by the Supreme Court of Nigeria,” Hon wrote, citing relevant case law. He stressed that Wike, as FCT minister, exercises the powers of the President over land administration in Abuja pursuant to sections 297(2) and 302 of the 1999 Constitution.
However, another Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Simon Lough, a retired deputy commissioner of police, questioned the propriety of Wike’s physical presence at the site. “He undermined his office. As a minister representing the President, he should have directed an official correspondence or investigation instead of personally going to the location,” Lough observed.
Human rights advocate and Abuja-based lawyer, Pelumi Olajengbesi, challenged whether the FCT minister had any lawful authority to command or intimidate a military officer. He explained that under the 1999 Constitution, the command and operational use of the Armed Forces rest exclusively with the President as Commander-in-Chief, exercised through the military chain of command.
“No minister can lawfully countermand a soldier’s orders or issue binding instructions to an officer on duty,” Olajengbesi asserted. He warned that unchecked excesses by political officeholders could lead to future clashes between civilians and the military.
As the investigation continues, the incident has reignited debates about the separation of powers, respect for military institutions, and the conduct expected of public officials in Nigeria’s democracy. The outcome of the Defence Ministry’s probe is expected to set an important precedent for civil-military relations in the country.
In a related development, reports indicate that Wike has banned mobile phones for staff of the Abuja Geographic Information System (AGIS) and the Department of Land Administration on salary grade level 14 and below, effective November 12, 2025. The directive, contained in an internal memo, is reportedly aimed at maintaining discipline and information security following the viral video of the confrontation.