…as Badaru, Buratai back officer, demand apology from Wike

The recent public confrontation between the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, and a serving naval officer, Lieutenant A.M. Yerima, has sparked a massive national debate, exposing deep cracks in Nigeria’s institutional order, governance, and respect for the rule of law.

The incident, centered on disputed access to a parcel of land in Abuja, has drawn sharp criticism from political leaders, legal experts, and security chiefs.

The core of the dispute revolves around a parcel of land initially allocated in 2007 to SANTOS ESTATE LIMITED for PARK and RECREATION. In 2022, the company’s request to change the land use purpose to residential was declined by the former FCT Minister. Despite this denial, Santos Estate Limited reportedly partitioned and sold the land to unsuspecting individuals, including former Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo, who is currently building duplexes on his plot.

Reacting, the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, described the confrontation as a stark reflection of a disgraced country.

He argued that what should have been a routine civic encounter turned into a national embarrassment, symptomatic of an erosion of respect for institutions.

Obi emphasized that the incident is about more than just personalities, it highlights how public office is often exercised without humility and how security agencies are inappropriately drawn into civil disputes.

He questioned the use of the military for purely civil operations and whether a Minister’s intervention should bypass established protocols, asking: “A country that aspires to greatness and feels insulted when referred to as a disgraced nation must replace the culture of impunity with discipline, law, and respect for due process.”

Obi concluded with a call for national introspection, urging the nation to rebuild a system where institutions are stronger than individuals and public office is exercised with humility and restraint.

Meanwhile, Constitutional Lawyer Prof. Sebastine Hon, SAN, argued that despite the public sentiment supporting the officer, it was Lieutenant Yerima who breached the law. Prof. Hon, SAN, acknowledged the military duty to obey superior orders but stressed, citing Supreme Court decisions Onunze vs. State (2023) and Nigeria Air Force vs. James (2002), that this obligation “does not include orders that are palpably illegal or manifestly unjust.”

The illegality, according to the SAN, stems from the fact that no service law permits a serving military officer to mount guard at a private construction site.

He further asserted that Minister Wike, by operation of the Constitution, stands in loco the President of Nigeria in matters of FCT land administration.

Therefore, the officer’s action constituted an “affront to the civil authority of Mr. President,” and the officer could face a Court Martial for obstructing a public officer.

An aide to Wike, Lere Olayinka questioned why the former Naval Chief was using military might to hold onto a property where he may have been duped, rather than focusing on the seller.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru, publicly defended the officer, stating: “We will always protect our officer. He has done well. We won’t allow anything happen to him.”

In a strong counter-argument, Tukur Buratai, the former Chief of Army Staff, issued a warning that Minister Wike’s conduct poses a “clear threat to national security.”

He argued that the Minister’s public disparagement of a uniformed officer is an act of profound indiscipline that grievously wounds the morale of the Armed Forces and deliberately undermines the chain of command and the authority of the Commander-in-Chief.

Buratai insisted that Wike must tender an immediate and unequivocal public apology to the President, the Armed Forces, and the specific officer, demanding “decisive action, not politics of military bashing.”

The consensus across the various perspectives is that the survival of Nigeria’s democracy depends on rebuilding institutions where procedure and hierarchy are respected, and where the dignity of both public office and uniformed service is upheld.