Abuja, Tuesday – Drama unfolded in Abuja on Tuesday as the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, engaged in a tense confrontation with a group of Nigerian Naval officers during an inspection of disputed land within the city.
The confrontation, captured in a video released by Channels Television, showed the minister angrily challenging military personnel allegedly deployed to prevent FCT officials from carrying out a demolition exercise on the contested site.
In the footage, Minister Wike demanded documents to justify the officers’ presence, emphasizing that no one is above the law.
“Show me the document you have. You have no document,” Wike was heard saying.
The lead naval officer insisted that they were acting on orders and possessed the necessary documents.
“I am the minister. You cannot tell me that. We cannot continue with this kind of impunity,” Wike retorted.
“You cannot use soldiers to intimidate government officials doing their job. This country cannot continue this way.”
Wike accused the officers of obstructing lawful government activity and using their uniforms to protect illegal structures.
“Even if you are a lieutenant general or vice admiral, it means nothing. The government must function according to law,” he said.
At one point, the minister suggested that the officers’ actions could have endangered lives.
“If not for the Chief of Defence Staff who just spoke to me, you could have killed everybody here,” Wike remarked.
The confrontation escalated when a member of the minister’s entourage accused the naval officer of lying about forwarding land documents to the FCT Administration. The comment provoked visible anger among the officers, prompting plainclothes security personnel and police accompanying the minister to shield him and other FCT officials.
One of Wike’s aides described the naval officers’ conduct as “unprofessional”, alleging that a threat had been made against the minister.
The naval officer maintained that the land had been legally acquired. The minister responded sharply:
“Will you stop that? Will you stop that? Shut up your mouth! Who does that? Will you get out? When I was in school, you had not even resumed school. Will you keep quiet? You are a big fool!”
The officer insisted he was acting on instructions as a commissioned officer.
The incident occurred amid the FCT Administration’s intensified campaign against illegal land allocations, encroachments, and unapproved structures across Abuja. Efforts to obtain official comments from the Nigerian Navy and the FCT Administration were ongoing at the time of filing this report.
Minister Wike, known for his combative governance style, has repeatedly vowed to restore order in Abuja’s urban planning, stressing that government lands and public spaces must be protected from powerful interests and lawless developers. However, he has also faced criticism over allegations of allocating prime land to associates and family members, claims he has consistently denied.
