AN unidentified military officer was involved in a heated confrontation with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, over an alleged land-grabbing incident at the Gaduwa District in Abuja on Tuesday, November 11.
A video of the confrontation, released by Channels TV, captured Wike angrily accusing the officer of unlawfully seizing a parcel of land and questioning why the military was claiming ownership of the property merely because it was linked to a former Chief of Naval Staff.
“Because you are an officer? Nobody does that. The man took land because he was the Chief of Naval Staff?” Wike said.
The officer, clad in military camouflage, cut in to defend himself, maintaining that the land acquisition was legitimate and that he had acted with integrity.
“I am an officer with integrity. Everything was acquired legally,” he replied.
Irritated by the interruption, Wike commanded the officer to “shut up”.
“I will not shut up,” the officer retorted, insisting that he was stationed at the site under official orders.
The confrontation intensified when Wike fired back, saying, “You are a very big fool. As at the time I graduated, you were still in primary school. You will see if you will not leave here. Go and develop there and let me see.”
Reacting to the video on his Facebook page, the FCT Minister’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, alleged that former Chief of Naval Staff, Awwal Zubairu Gambo, a retired vice admiral, deployed his armed military security aides to attack officials of the FCTA Department of Development Control.
“Today, the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, visited the site, after talking to the Chief of Defence Staff on Phone…Because he was told to stop building on a land he has no title document and building approval, former Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo, sent his armed military security details to attack men of the FCTA Department of Development Control.
“He also stationed armed military men to protect the illegal development, with the military men threatening to shoot anyone who interfered with them,” he wrote.
The ICIR reported that Wike, had given property owners in Asokoro, Maitama, Garki, and Wuse districts a final 14-day ultimatum, effective from Tuesday, November 11, 2025, to regularise their properties and comply with the approved land use and conversion terms.
Since taking office in August 2023, Wike has carried out multiple demolitions of what he termed illegal structures, pledging to reinstate the original Abuja Master Plan.
The FCTA had issued public notices on September 8, 9, and 10, 2025, through several national newspapers and online platforms, informing the public about the reviewed Land Use and Purpose Clauses for properties within the Federal Capital City (FCC).
Recall that in May, Wike announced the takeover of possession of 4,794 land titles in high-brow areas of the nation’s capital due to their owners’ failure to pay ground rent, which had been outstanding for periods ranging from 10 to 43 years.
The takeover occurred weeks after he had revoked the right of occupancy granted to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Secretariat, Central Bank of Nigeria headquarters, and scores of other buildings in the heart of Abuja over alleged non-payment of ground rent spanning two decades.
It claimed that despite multiple reminders and public notices issued since 2023, the landowners allegedly defaulted on their dues, which it said led to the revocation.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.