A former Niger Delta militant leader, Asari Dokubo, on Wednesday condemned the confrontation between the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and military officers over a disputed property in Abuja.
The incident occurred when a naval officer, A.M. Yerima, claiming to act on the orders of a former Chief of Naval Staff, Awal Gambo, engaged Wike in a heated argument and blocked him and officials of the FCT Administration from accessing the land at Plot 1946, Gaduwa District, Abuja.
Reacting to the standoff, Dokubo called for the officer involved to be reprimanded and court-martialled by the appropriate authorities.
In a video shared on his Facebook page on Wednesday, Asari said, “I’m not taking sides with Wike, I’m taking sides with what is the law, the rule, and the convention. What happened yesterday, in any sane society, that person would be reprimanded and detained.
“The confrontation with the military man and the Minister of FCT is uncalled for. The minister is the governor of the FCT and, constitutionally, he is the chief security officer, next to the president, of the city of Abuja.”
The ex-militant leader said that he believes Yerima should be charged.
“I might not like Wike, our relationships have witnessed ups and downs, but in any sane society, that fellow ought to have been court-martialled. It can’t happen anywhere outside Nigeria.
“There is law in Abuja, and nobody has the right to develop a piece of property without following the laid-down rules and regulations.
“A military man is subject to the Constitution; he is not above it. If Wike himself had not gone there, they would say government officials do not take their work seriously,” he said.
In an executive system of government, Dokubo added, “I didn’t see anything wrong with the minister going there. Nobody can accept that sort of affront from somebody who, by the law, ought to see you as his superior.”
In a statement issued after the confrontation by the Assistant Director, Press (Office of the Minister), Rabi Umar, Wike condemned the incident, describing it as an act of lawlessness by military personnel.
“I did instruct them (FCTA officials) to make sure that nothing takes place, since they do not have any legal papers in terms of building approval or acquisition of the land.
“When they came here, I was informed that the military chased them away. So today, I was called that the military had taken over the place, and I had to come to see things for myself,” the minister was quoted as saying
Wike accused the soldiers and the developers of land grabbing and vowed not to be intimidated by any individual or group.
Commenting on the issue, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and constitutional law expert, Prof. Sebastine Hon, argued that Wike was performing his constitutional duty as the administrator of Abuja and had the right to inspect the disputed property.
“The duty of a junior officer to obey the orders of his superiors, even though strongly upheld in military and paramilitary circles, has its own limitations recognised by no other authority but the Supreme Court of Nigeria,” he wrote.
Hon cited Supreme Court rulings in Onunze v. State (2023) 8 NWLR (Pt. 1885) 61 and Nigeria Air Force v. James (2002) 18 NWLR (Pt. 798) 295, which, according to him, clearly established that military officers are not bound to obey illegal or manifestly unjust orders.
“The illegality in that order stems primarily from the fact that no service law of the military permits a serving military officer to mount guard at the private construction site of his boss, especially under suspicious circumstances like this,” he stated.
On the other hand, a coalition of Nigerian military veterans has condemned Wike over the confrontation.
In a statement by its spokesperson, Abiodun Durowaiye-Herberts, the Coalition of Military Veterans criticised Wike for verbally insulting the officer during the encounter.
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