…CONDEMNS ASSAULT ON GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Barrister Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, has strongly affirmed his respect for the Nigerian military as an institution. This affirmation is coming on the heels of a recent confrontation with a military officer over a disputed land in Gaduwa District of Abuja.
The Minister stated this during a press briefing in Abuja on Thursday, November 13, 2025, to address the incident involving FCTA officials and a security detail linked to a retired Chief of Naval Staff over alleged illegal land acquisition and development in the Gaduwa District of Abuja.
Barr. Wike explained that his actions were not a personal attack on the Nigerian Military, an institution he holds in high esteem, but a resolute stand against the lawlessness and impunity perpetrated by private individuals who use official security for personal gain.
“I have respect for the military as an institution and I will continue to respect them because I know what they stand for”, Barr. Wike asserted, noting his unparalleled support for the military even as Governor.
Speaking on the viral confrontation with a military officer over the disputed land, Barr. Wike clarified that the incident is not “military versus government” but a confrontation with a private individual operating outside the ambit of the law.
He explained that the disputed plot (Plot 1946 in Gaduwa) was originally designated for Parks and Recreation and had been illegally partitioned and sold by a company after the FCT Administration (FCTA) refused an application for a change of use in 2022.
Noting that the former Chief of Naval Staff may have fallen victim to a scam by the company, the Minister said, “It is not military versus government, no. If it were the military, I would write to them and say why are you people doing this? This is a private individual. The land was not allocated to him (Former Chief of Naval Staff). The land was allocated to a private company in 2007 for Parks and Recreation. They applied to the former Minister for a change of use. The Minister refused. But the man went ahead and started selling land”.
The Minister expressed outrage over the assault on FCTA officials who were carrying out their lawful duty to enforce a stop-work order on the illegal development.
“You started beating government officials. Senior government officials were beaten”, Wike lamented and challenged the notion that any individual, regardless of their former rank, can operate above the law in the FCT.
He further challenged the retired naval chief and the officer on site to produce valid documentation: “I was there, I said, bring the documents; you don’t have approval for building; you don’t have it. How can we continue to allow lawlessness to prevail in the country?”
Barr. Wike stressed that the continuous use of class, tribalism, or institutional affiliation to evade the law is the primary threat to national development.
“I cry for this country because it’s unfortunate; either we tribalize everything that happens, or we bring religion into everything, or the class you belong to”, he stated. “No country can ever succeed if we continue to allow impunity, lawlessness… If you allow impunity and lawlessness to continue to prevail, that country will never go anywhere”, he added.
He drew a sharp distinction between a former military officer seeking to resolve an issue through established, respectful channels and the deployment of armed personnel to intimidate government workers.
“Respect begets respect,” Wike noted. “But you chose to challenge the Minister representing the President and then you think that I’m not a human being or I have no emotions”.
The Minister confirmed that he has engaged the current Service Chiefs who are on the matter.
While reaffirming his unyielding commitment to his mandate, regardless of political backlash, the Minister said “I will do my job without looking at anybody’s face…for me, I will not allow intimidation or blackmail. If you like shout as you want to shout, the right thing must be done”, he stressed.
Barr Wike also advised media critics to always carry out proper investigations to avoid publishing unverified facts and warned political opponents that he would not be intimidated or blackmailed as long as he was doing the right thing.
The Minister further stated that he is a representative of the President, and his duty is to ensure the right thing is done, regardless of the cost. “The right thing must be done,” he insisted.
“I have no regret that I supported President Tinubu because I know that he possesses the leadership to turn around this country… As far as my conscience is clear that I’m doing the right thing, I will do it. If it will cost me my job, it’s okay”, he added.
Providing a detailed chronology of events that led to the Minister’s on-site intervention, the Director of Development Control, Town Planner Mukhtar Galadima, confirmed that the confrontation was a culmination of weeks of non-compliance by the developers and intimidation by the military officers.
Galadima revealed that FCT officials first noticed the illegal development on October 17, and upon seeking documentation, they were met by stiff resistance and a threat to shoot by men of the Nigerian Navy.
“We came back to the same site and met the officer, Lt Yerima, and appealed to him, if you have this approval, show it to us because what was sent to us is not approval, it’s just a letter of intent issued by the Department of Parks and Recreation”, he said.
Galadima added that a message was sent to the officer on site, Lt. Yerima, intimating him that obviously, his principal had been scammed. “I appealed to him to get in touch with his principal so that I can advise him properly because I’ve been advised that he is a man of honour and high integrity. Till today, Yerima has never even acknowledged my message”.
The Director took responsibility for calling the Minister to the scene, explaining that it was necessary to protect his staff who had recently faced violence during enforcement exercises.
“On that faithful Tuesday when we were there to enforce the directive of the Hon. Minister, we noticed the impending danger because armed men were strategically positioned, ready to shoot”, Galadima stated, confirming the imminent security risk. This danger, he said, was compounded by the fact that the FCTA had recently lost a staff member during demolition activity and had other staff beaten and hospitalized.
Clarifying the position of the disputed land, he said, “What is clear is that the development on ground has not been approved because there is no title document. What is issued to Santos Estate is just to develop and maintain a park. It is unfortunate that we issued an order and nobody respected it”, he stressed.
Corroborating the position of Town Planner Galadima, the Director of Land, Chijioke Nwankwoeze, clarified that the developer did not have the requisite title or approval to build on the land, adding that the claimants relied on a Letter of Intent issued by the Department of Parks and Recreation in 2007 (18 years ago) to develop, manage and operate a designated park site and not statutory right of occupancy.
“I wish to make it clear that in the FCT, the only thing that gives you title to land is the statutory right of occupancy. A letter of intent is not a title. It’s a mere permission to enter the land and do specific things – in this case, to manage and operate a designated park site”, he said.
He explained that the FCT Administration, in its quest to handle land administration activities more professionally, had embarked on serious reforms and developed operational frameworks for the departments and agencies undertaking land matters.
“In the case of the Department of Parks and Recreation, their activities were reviewed and every one of the things they did and their performances relating to all of the papers they issued were reviewed, discussed and a submission jointly made by the Departments of Land Administration and Parks and Recreation on the 10th of June 2025”, he explained.
The Director disclosed that one of the recommendations in that joint submission was that all letters of intent and every approval of any sort on the basis of the letters of intent given by the Department of Parks and Recreation be withdrawn and those who were given these papers were asked to send in their papers for vetting so that the ones that are really Parks will be looked into and considered for a proper allocation.
He said the submission – a 15-page memorandum was approved on the 19th of June by the FCT Minister, withdrawing any letter of intent given by the Departments of Parks and Recreation, Abuja Metropolitan Management Agency/Abuja Metropolitan Management Council.
“Suddenly, so many people who had done nothing, who had not even attempted to submit any document to the Department of Development Control for approval, moved into all of those places to start developing. They were not even developing what they were asked to do by virtue of those papers. They were now going into other kinds of developments, building housing estates, attempting to build hotels and other forms of incompatible land uses when they no longer had permission to build on the plot”, he said.
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