….Apologise to the officer – Chidoka tells Wike
Things got heated between the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, and officials of the capital city when some soldiers stopped the former Rivers State governor and his entourage from gaining access to a land in the Gaduwa district of the area.
“This is unprofessional. You cannot be threatening a minister like this,” one of the officials accompanying Wike told the gun-wielding soldiers as the minister and his team tried to gain access to the land.
The minister, unhappy over the development, questioned the actions of the military officers, saying no one is above the laws of the land.
Wike questioned the development of the land, alleging that due process was not followed.
“You have no document,” the FCT minister said during the impasse on Tuesday, but the soldiers did not budge, saying that they were following instructions. “We cannot continue to act in impunity. We cannot continue this way. This country cannot go along this line.
“You cannot be higher than any government. You cannot be carrying a gun to intimidate anybody. I am not one of those that they can intimidate,” he said.
I Will Not Succumb To Blackmail
After an intense session with the military officers, the FCT minister accused the officers of acting with impunity. Wike argued that there is no legal document in the FCTA’s record allocating such land to them.
He vowed not to allow such action to stand as far as his administration is concerned.
“It’s really unfortunate. And you heard what was said by the former Chief of Staff,” Wike, the immediate past governor of Rivers State, said.
“I don’t understand how somebody who attained that position, seeing that he has a problem, cannot approach my office to say, ‘Look, this is what’s going on,’ or simply because he is a military man, they could use that to intimidate Nigerians.
“I’m not one of those kinds of people who will succumb to blackmail.”
Despite the minister’s threat, the military officers maintained they would not vacate the land as they are working based on directives given to them by a former Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Zubairu Gambo.
Alleged Abusive Language: Apologise to the officer – Chidoka tells Wike
Meanwhile, former Minister of Aviation and governance expert, Osita Chidoka, has called on Minister Nyesom Wike to apologise to a law enforcement officer allegedly subjected to abusive language, emphasizing that ministers must exercise authority through proper channels, not personal presence.
Chidoka, in a statement on his Facebook page on Tuesday, said any officer, in uniform or plain clothes, represents the President and the sovereignty of Nigeria. “To abuse such an officer is to diminish the authority of the Republic itself,” he noted.
He described Wike’s decision to personally enforce a directive at a disputed site as a “fundamental misstep.” According to Chidoka, in constitutional democracies, executive power operates through institutions, courts, and lawful instruments—not through confrontation or direct enforcement.
“In a democracy, ministers act through process, not presence,” Chidoka stated. He explained that a formal communication to the Minister of Defence, which oversees the Armed Forces, would have been sufficient to address any concerns. If the officers were on illegal duty, established disciplinary mechanisms could have resolved the matter.
Chidoka warned that trading words with uniformed officers acting under orders undermines discipline and confuses the chain of command. “The officer’s duty is to obey the chain of command, not verbal instructions on a roadside; the minister’s duty is to act through lawful channels,” he said.
He further criticized the conduct of the DSS protective detail, noting that their responsibility is to extract their principal safely from tense situations, not escalate conflicts. “Security officers must remember that their loyalty is to the state, not to personalities,” Chidoka added.
Describing the incident as a cautionary tale, he said, “This episode demeans the dignity of the office of the Minister and undermines the image of disciplined governance.”
Chidoka concluded that the minister should apologise to the officer for the alleged misconduct, stressing that such behaviour is unacceptable.
