A fresh confrontation erupted in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on Tuesday as the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, engaged in a heated exchange with personnel of the Nigerian Army over a disputed parcel of land in Abuja.
A viral video circulating online shows Wike and his entourage in a tense face-off with armed soldiers who reportedly occupied the contentious site.
The disagreement centered on ownership and allocation rights to the land, which both the FCT Administration and the Army are claiming control over.
The minister, visibly angered, insisted that “no institution, including the military, is above the law,” and vowed to reclaim any land illegally occupied within the territory.
“Abuja belongs to the Federal Government. No one has the right to take over land without approval from the FCT Administration,” Wike reportedly said during the encounter.
In a Facebook post, Wike’s spokesperson, Lere Olayinka, alleged that former Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo (rtd), deployed armed military personnel to attack officials of the FCTA Department of Development Control after he was told to stop building on a land for which he had no title documents or building approval.
“He also stationed armed military men to protect the illegal development, with the soldiers threatening to shoot anyone who interfered with them,” Olayinka claimed.
In recent weeks, the minister has directed that property owners who altered the use of their land without authorization must pay a ₦5 million penalty or face revocation.
