A tense confrontation occurred on Tuesday in the Gaduwa District of Abuja when the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and a military officer engaged in a heated exchange over an alleged illegal land takeover.
In a video circulating online, Wike accused the officer of attempting to secure a piece of land on behalf of a former Chief of Naval Staff, insisting the claim had no legal basis.
“Because you are an officer? Nobody does that,” Wike said in the footage. “The man took land because he was the Chief of Naval Staff?”
The officer, who was dressed in military uniform and deployed to oversee activities at the site, strongly defended his actions, stating that the land acquisition was legitimate.
“I am an officer with integrity. Everything was acquired legally,” he responded.
The argument escalated when the officer attempted to speak while Wike was talking, prompting the minister to demand silence.
However, the officer refused to back down, saying, “I will not shut up.”
Visibly angered, Wike retorted, “You are a very big fool. As at the time I graduated, you were still in primary school.”
The officer insisted he was only carrying out official instructions: “I was deployed here on orders.”
Wike fired back, warning, “Go and develop there, let me see. You will see if you will not leave here.”
The incident highlights ongoing tensions around land administration in the Federal Capital Territory.
Under Wike’s leadership, the FCTA has intensified actions against what it describes as illegal land allocations, encroachments, and unapproved developments, often resulting in demolitions and disputes.
