Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike and officials of the FCT Authority (FCTA) clashed with soldiers on Tuesday over access to a land in the Gaduwa district of Abuja.
In a video circulating on social media, Minister Wike was seen in a heated argument with the soldiers, who reportedly blocked FCTA officials from entering the property.
Wike asked the soldiers to stop, noting that there were no documents authorizing the military presence on the land.
The soldiers responded that they were following instructions.
“You send soldiers to intimidate who? We are all from this country. If not for the CDS who spoke to me now, you would have to kill everybody here,” Wike said.
He also told one of the officers, “Shut up, keep quiet, you are a fool. As at the time I graduated, you were still in primary school.”
During the confrontation, Wike questioned the legality of the land development, stating, “You cannot be higher than any government. You cannot be carrying a gun to intimidate anybody. We cannot continue to act in impunity. This country cannot go along this line. I’m not one of those that they can intimidate.”
Lere Olayinka, Wike’s media aide, said on Facebook that the former Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo, had sent military personnel to the site after being told to stop building on land without title documents and building approval.
Mr Olayinka added that the soldiers threatened FCTA officials who attempted to intervene.
Wike said he contacted the Chief of Defence Staff before visiting the site and maintained that the military officers acted without proper authority.
He further stated, “I don’t understand how somebody who attained that position cannot approach my office to say, ‘Look, this is what’s going on,’ or simply because he is a military man, they could use that to intimidate Nigerians. I’m not one of those kinds of people who will succumb to blackmail.”
Despite his intervention, the soldiers reportedly refused to vacate the land, citing directives from the former naval chief.
The incident has raised questions about the involvement of the military in property matters within the FCT and the enforcement of land regulations.
