The Nigerian Defense Headquarters, DHQ has reacted to the clash between Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, and a Naval officer, over a disputed piece of land belonging to a former Chief Of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo.
The magazine reported a viral video on Tuesday, where Wike verbally engaged the officer for denying him access to a building project. The officer had responded that he was under order from his superiors to prevent the minister’s access to the property.
The minister who was accompanied by his security details, including the police, DSS, Civil Defence, among others was forced to leave the property after the officer stood his ground that he would not be allowed to enter the property.
“Shut up”, Wike hauled at the Officer, to which he responded: “I will not shut up.” But Wike continued: “You are a very big fool. As at the time I graduated, you were still in Primary School.”
But the officer responded: “I am not a fool Sir. I am not a fool Sir. I am not a fool Sir. I am acting on orders. I am acting on orders. I am acting on orders.”
Trouble started when soldiers, on Tuesday, November 11, blocked the Minister and his officials from accessing a building project, allegedly, over government approval issues.
When Wike insisted on having access, the officer told him that he was acting on orders of his superior, now identified as a former Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo
But Wike told the officer: “Get out, you must vacate the land”, the officer calmly replied: “I have integrity”, and stood his ground.
During the heated argument, Wike told the officer: “You cannot tell me that. We cannot continue to act in this impunity. Where is the approval given to you people? You cannot continue this way. Even if he (former CNS) has a problem, he cannot reach me and say ‘I am sorry?’ You’ll send soldiers to intimidate who? We’re all from this country. And you cannot be higher than any government. You cannot be intimidating people with guns.”
The argument ended when the Chief of Defence Staff intervened.
Wike: “Let me tell you, if not for the Chief of the Defence Staff who spoke to me, you could have killed everybody here. No problem. I am not one of those that you can intimidate. I am doing my job. Show me the approval that you’ve been approved to do what you’re doing.”
But Chidoka has chastised Wike for verbally abusing the Army Officer. “Abusing a law enforcement officer,” the former Minister said in a statement on Tuesday, November 11, “diminishes the authority of the Republic”
The confrontation has elicited serious reactions from not a few Nigerians, including Osita Chidoka, a former Minister of Aviation and Corp Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC and Turkur Burutai, a former Chief of Army Staff who both criticized the minister for breaching National Security through his action.
The minister has however received support from other analysts, who insist that the officer disrespected him and should be reprimanded.
Instructively, the Nigerian Navy has yet to respond to the clash few hours after it happened, even as the Ministry of Defence remained mum despite the tension elicited by the clash.
But, in a cryptic message released on the official X handle of the Defence Headquarters on Wednesday, the officer was not berated contrary to the expectations of not a few Nigerians who have been monitoring the issue since it occurred yesterday.
According to analysts, the DH message shared on its official social media platforms appears to show support for the officer, who many said was very professional in his response to the FCT Minister.
The post that has now gone viral, affirms that a military officers must remained “unshaken, unbent and unbroken” in the face of intimidation and provocation. Not a few Nigerians have commended the officer for his comportment even after the minster called him unprintable names. The officer, they said, responded respectfully to the minister but in an affirmative manner, that he was carrying out a lawful duty.
“It’s an honour to serve in the Nigerian Military:unshaken, unbent and unbroken” the DH post said.
Reacting to the clash on Tuesday, Gen Burutai said it was wrong for the minister to assault a uniformed military officer, describing the Wike’s action as a ‘profound indiscipline” and “reckless” behavior that endangers national security.
Burutai: A minister’s verbal assault on a military officer in uniform is an act of profound indiscipline that strikes at the very foundation of our national security apparatus. It is not political theatre—it is a reckless endangerment of national order.”
“This action by Wike is clearly an indication of undermining the Federal Government’s authority. It disrespects the Commander-in-Chief and wounds the morale of every officer who serves under the Nigerian flag.”
On his part, Chidoka chided Wike, urging him to apologize to him and the country who he said the minister disrespected.
Instead of taking law into his hands by assaulting the officer, Chidoka said the minister should have gone throguh officials channels if he observed any breach in what the officer did.
In the statement titled: “Minister Wike: Power, Process, and the Rule of Law” Chidoka said:
“Any law enforcement officer, in uniform or plain clothes, represents the President and the sovereignty of the Nigerian state.
“To abuse such an officer is to diminish the authority of the Republic itself.
“Minister Nyesom Wike’s decision to personally enforce a directive at a disputed site was a fundamental misstep. In constitutional democracies, power operates through institutions not impulse.
“Executive authority must be exercised or adjudicated through the Courts, Ministries, and lawful instruments of State, never through confrontation.
“No matter how justified a grievance, a Minister cannot become an enforcer; that violates the very idea of ordered Government.
“In a democracy, Ministers act through process, not presence.
” A formal communication to the Minister of Defence, whose office oversees the Armed Forces, would have sufficed. If the officers were on illegal duty, the established disciplinary systems would have addressed it.
“When a Minister trades words with a uniformed officer acting under orders — lawful or otherwise — it corrodes discipline and confuses hierarchy.
“The officer’s duty is to obey the chain of command, not verbal instructions on a roadside; the Minister’s duty is to act through lawful channels.
“The Minister should apologise to the officer for using abusive language. It is not acceptable behaviour.
“The conduct of the DSS protective details was equally unprofessional. Their responsibility was to extract their principal from a rancorous and potentially dangerous situation, not to escalate it.
“Security officers must remember that their loyalty is to the state, not to personalities.
“This episode is a cautionary tale: This episode demeans the dignity of the office of the Minister and undermines the image of disciplined governance,” Chidoka said.
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