Wike Speaks After Confrontation With Military Officer
Wike Speaks After Confrontation With Military Officer
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, commented on an earlier confrontation he had on Tuesday with an unidentified military officer over an alleged land-grabbing incident in Abuja, describing the situation as “unfortunate.”
He stressed that he “would not succumb to blackmail or intimidation.”
Speaking to the press, Wike explained that the FCT administration was investigating potential “illegal developments in the area.”
He recounted that the “military intervened during the enforcement of FCT directives, which prompted the confrontation.”
Wike stated: “When they came here, I was informed that the military came to chase them away, and I thought they were acting illegally. So today, while I was in the office, they came to implement the directive that was given to them by myself. I was told that the military had taken over the place, and I had to come by myself. It is really unfortunate.”
The Minister strongly criticized the officer for allegedly “using his military background to intimidate officials.”
He questioned the officer’s conduct, stating: “I do not understand how somebody who attained that position sees that he has a problem and 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 Nigerians. I am not one who will succumb to blackmail or intimidation.”
Wike also challenged the officer to produce proper documentation, saying: “Where are the documents? I was here, I said, bring the documents; you don’t have approval for building; you don’t have it.’ How can we continue to allow lawlessness to prevail in the country?”
A viral video of the confrontation showed Wike questioning the use of the military to claim property: “Because you are an officer? Nobody does that. The man took land because he was the Chief of Naval Staff?”
Wike confirmed that he has contacted both the Chief of Defence Staff and the Chief of Naval Staff, who assured him that the matter “would be resolved.”
The Minister concluded by asserting: “We are not here to cause chaos, but what I must say is that I will not allow it to happen. He will not carry out this illegal development because he is a former Chief of Naval Staff. I will not allow it.”
