Following a high drama that played out Monday between the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, (FCT) Nyesom Wike, and some naval officers over alleged land grabbing at the Gaduwa District, Abuja involving a former Chief of Naval Staff, Awwal Zubairu Gambo, fiery human rights activist and former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, has reminded Wike how during his tenure as Rivers State governor, he once blocked the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from arresting a high court judge.
Newsmata.com.ng recalls that Wike had on October 9, 2016, rushed to the No. 35, Forces Avenue, GRA official residence of Justice Uche Agumuo of the Federal High Court (FHC), Port Harcourt, following information that she was under siege by security men, and stalled her arrest by operatives of Department of State Services.
At the time of the midnight security siege on Justice Agumuo’s residence, the current Director-General of the Department of State Services, Adeola Oluwatosin Ajayi was the Rivers State Director of the DSS.
Sowore, who took a swipe at both the minister and the military officers, over the clash, described the incident as symptomatic of a broader culture of corruption and misplaced priorities among Nigeria’s security and political elite.
Reacting to the macabre drama in Abuja in a post on his X (formerly Twitter) account on Tuesday, Sowore condemned what he described as the military’s diversion from its constitutional role of protecting Nigeria’s borders, accusing senior officers of being entangled in corrupt and self-serving ventures.
Sowore blasted the Nigerian military for abandoning its primary responsibility of protecting Nigerian borders to protecting parcels of land for those he described as pervasive and self-interested high-ranking military officers.
He wrote, “The military’s primary responsibility is to safeguard the country’s borders, but instead, it is devoting resources to protect a parcel of land for a high-ranking officer, allegedly acting on ‘orders.’”
According to him, “This pathetic scenario is the pervasive self-interest among officials who cater to the interests of a privileged minority at the expense of national protection, with Nyesom Wike not being an exception”.
Accusing Wike of having exhibited the same impunity as Rivers governor, Sowore, convener of the #RevolutionNow movement, recalled that “As governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike too once stood in the way of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) officers, gun blazing, stopping them from arresting a corrupt judge friend of his. What a country!”.
In a video recording of the incident obtained by NM, a visibly enraged Wike was captured in a fiery altercation with an unidentified officer at Plot 1946, Buffer Transit, Southern Parkway, a site said to belong to retired Vice Admiral Gambo.
In the footage, Wike was seen accusing the officer of illegally taking possession of the parcel of land, questioning why the military was laying claim to the property simply because it was linked to a former Chief of Naval Staff.
In an outburst, the minister said, “Because you are an officer? Nobody does that. The man took land because he was the Chief of Naval Staff?”.
The officer, dressed in military camouflage who interrupted the minister, insisted that the acquisition was legitimate.
“I am an officer with integrity. Everything was acquired legally,” he insisted.
Wike, angered by the interjection, barked at him to be quiet, but the officer fired back, saying, “I will not shut up.”
At this point, Wike lost it completely, hurling insults at him: “You are a very big fool. As of the time I graduated, you were still in primary school.”
The officer however maintained his stance, insisting that he was deployed to the site on official orders.
With his ego badly bruised, Wike left the scene, but not without parting words for the military men: “You will see if you will not leave here. Go and develop there and let me see”.
Trouble started when Wike, accompanied by some senior officials of the FCT Administration arrived at the site to stop an ongoing construction described as illegal.
From the video, armed military personnel were seen blocking the entrance to the plot with a truck, preventing bulldozers from the Department of Development Control from accessing the site for demolition.
The officers allegedly shoved the minister aside, declaring that they were acting on superior instructions.
Wike, who eventually turned back after making and receiving several calls, vowed that the illegal construction would not continue.
Speaking to journalists after the incident, the minister accused the retired naval officer of attempting to use his status to intimidate government officials.
“I don’t understand how somebody who attained that position and said that he has a problem cannot approach my office to say, look, this is what is going on.
“But simply because he’s a military man, he could use that to intimidate Nigerians. I’m not one of those kind of persons that will succumb to blackmail or intimidation,” the minister fumed.
Explaining that the officers on-site failed to produce valid documents authorising the development, Wike stated that “You can imagine where you cannot even prove the documents. And the Director of Development Control said, look, I was here. I said bring the documents; you don’t have the documents. Bring the approval for building, you don’t have it. And how can we continue to allow lawlessness to prevail in this country?”
Further questioning what ordinary citizens without military backing were expected to do when faced with such situations, the minister queried:
“What about those who don’t have the military? What about those who don’t have security? It has gotten to a level where, when government officials are carrying out their job, you go and bring security to intimidate them. And this government official — I will not accept that”.
While disclosing that he had already spoken with the Chief of Defence Staff and the Chief of Naval Staff about the incident, Wike said “they have assured me that they have to resolve the matter. We’re not coming here to have a shootout with anybody or to cause chaos.
“But what I can say, I would not allow it to happen. The way we have carried out our jobs in other areas is the same way it will be done here. He will not carry out this illegal development on land simply because he was a former Chief of Naval Staff. I would not allow that”.
As reactions trail the face-off, former Minister of Aviation, Osita Chidoka, has called on Wike to tender an unreserved apology to the military officer concerned for the insults during the confrontation.
Chidoka, renowned governance expert and political analyst, opined that ministers are expected to demonstrate leadership through institutional authority, not direct intimidation or personal outbursts.
According to the ex-minister, Wike’s use of harsh language on a uniformed officer during an inspection, reflected a worrying trend of public officials personalising power rather than upholding the dignity of civil service and law enforcement institutions, adding that Nigeria’s democracy thrives only when those in power abide by process and decorum.
“The rule of law must be the guiding principle of governance. A minister’s authority flows from the office he occupies, not the volume of his voice or the intimidation of subordinates”, Chidoka emphasised.
