Nigeria’s Minister of Defence, Mohammad Badaru Abubakar, has declared that the government will not allow any officer or soldier performing lawful duties to be punished over the recent clash between some naval officers and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Barrister Nyesom Wike, in Abuja on Tuesday, November 11.
Abubakar made this statement on Wednesday, November 12, during a press briefing held at the National Defence College to flag off the 2026 Armed Forces Remembrance Day celebration. He said: “At the Ministry, and indeed within the Armed Forces, we will always protect our officers on lawful duty. We will not allow anything to happen to them as long as they are doing their job diligently and lawfully.”
Earlier reports revealed that Minister Wike and a naval officer, Lt. A. M. Yerima, had a confrontation over a disputed piece of land allegedly belonging to the former Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo. Wike reportedly claimed that the land was acquired illegally and ordered that ongoing work there be stopped, while the naval officer insisted that he was acting on superior orders and would not allow Wike and his team access to the property.
The disagreement escalated as Wike angrily hurled insults at the officer, who remained defiant. Meanwhile, a coalition of retired Nigerian military veterans warned that they would mobilize their members to occupy the FCT Ministry if any disciplinary action is taken against the officer for performing his lawful duty.