By Joy Yesufu
Some military men on Tuesday blocked the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, from gaining access to a disputed piece of land in the Gaduwa area of the capital city.
Wike, who arrived at the site with top officials of the Federal Capital Territory Development Authority (FCDA), was said to have been stopped at the entrance by armed military personnel guarding the location.
Eyewitnesses said the minister, visibly angered by the action, confronted the soldiers and demanded to know under whose authority they were acting.
The military officer explained that the soldiers were acting under instruction adding that the documents of the land had been submitted to the relevant agencies for verification.
“This is not an illegal development,” he asserted. “I have forwarded all the documents to the officials in charge.” The officer replied
But his response was to pace the way for a strong exchange of words between him and the minister who told him to keep quiet
The officer reminded the Minister that as an officer of the military , he had integrity which seemed to have angered the minister.
“You are a fool,” Wike was heard shouting at the officer, who calmly replied, “Sir, I am not a fool.”
Despite efforts by Wike’s security detail and FCDA officials to persuade the soldiers, the troops refused to grant the minister access, insisting they were “acting on orders from above.”
In a video circulating on social media, the visibly furious minister condemned what he described as acts of impunity and intimidation by security operatives.
“We cannot continue to act with impunity. You cannot be higher than any government. You cannot be carrying a gun to intimidate anybody. I am not one of those that can be intimidated,” Wike said.
He further expressed dismay that a serving military officer would allegedly obstruct a federal minister performing official duties, instead of seeking administrative resolution.
“I don’t understand how somebody who attained that position, seeing that he has a problem, cannot approach my office to say, ‘This is what’s going on,’ but instead uses military power to intimidate Nigerians. I’m not one of those who will succumb to blackmail,” he added.
As of press time, neither the Nigerian Navy nor the FCT Administration had issued an official statement on the incident.
The confrontation reportedly caused a brief commotion at the site, as security operatives in Wike’s convoy and the soldiers exchanged heated words before the minister’s team withdrew from the area.
