The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike has finally opened up after an altercation with an officer of the Nigerian Navy over the ownership of a landed property in Gaduwa area of Abuja.
The Minister, in a video shared by Arise News, said he cannot be intimidated by the military for doing his job and ensuring due diligence in the acquisition and use of land within the FCT.
Speaking to journalists at the site of the incident, the minister said he finds it difficult to understand how someone who is in the wrong would resort to using the military to intimidate others.
“I don’t understand how somebody who attained that position and he sees that he has a problem cannot approach my office to say, “look, this is what is going on” but simply because he is a military man, he could use that to intimidate Nigerian,” Wike said.
Also noting that he is not one who could be succumb to any form of blackmail or intimidation, the minister said it is important that government officials are allowed to do their jobs at all times.
He also insisted that the purported high ranking military official who owns the property in question does not have the documents to rightfully claims ownership of the land.
He said, “I am not one of those persons that would succumb to blackmail or intimidation. And you can imagine where you cannot even prove, where are the documents? And the director of Development Control is even there saying, “bring the documents, you don’t have the documents.
“Bring the approval for building, you don’t have it. How can we continue to allow lawlessness to prevail in this country? What about those who don’t have the military”?
“What about those who don’t have security? It has now gotten to a level where, when government officials are busy carrying out their jobs, you go and bring security to intimidate them. I will not accept that.
“I have spoken to the Chief of Defence Staff and the Chief of Naval Staff. They assured me that the matter will be resolved. We’re not here to have a shootout with anybody or cause chaos.
“But I will not allow this to happen. The same way we enforce our laws in other areas is the same way it will be done here. Nobody whether a former Chief of Naval Staff or anyone else will be allowed to carry out illegal development on government land,” Wike added.
Wike Condemns Military Takeover Of Abuja Land, Orders Halt To Illegal Development, Says Former Naval Chief Behind Encroachment, Vows to Resist Intimidation
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Barr. Nyesom Wike, has condemned the alleged illegal takeover of a… pic.twitter.com/HAmEOsr413
— ARISE NEWS (@ARISEtv) November 11, 2025
You met your match! You can’t enforce your own rule. Take him to court!