NIGERIA is gradually becoming a nation where we witness drama on the daily. In our everyday lives, it is these dramatic episodes that keep Nigerians entertained. In the last couple of days, a new series from Senator Ned Nwoke and one of his estranged wives, Regina Daniels has been streaming. On Tuesday last week, the drama involving the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and a young Naval officer, Lieutenant Ahmed Yerima, took the limelight. Their tango was over a piece of land in the FCT.
Wike, by virtue of his office, is the landlord of the whole of Abuja. If you desire to have a plot of land in the nation’s capital, you must go through the ‘’Mayor’’ of the FCT, Wike. He boasted at one of his numerous World Press Conferences that powerful Nigerians, including former Heads of State, have had course to call and beg him to regularize their title on their plots of land. He is that powerful.
But he met his match in Yerima, who was deployed by another ‘’powerful’’ Nigerian to guard a piece of land in the FCT. Aides of the FCT Minister, who wanted to inspect the land, confirmed that the owner indeed has genuine land title and the necessary approval for the structure that was being developed on it, and so, were chased away by the guards in Khaki uniform guarding the property.
The development enraged Wike, who, livid with rage, stormed the property with a retinue of aides, security men and journalists. But Yerima and his boys would not be easily intimidated. Wike was prevented from gaining access to the property, and a war of words ensued between him and Yerima. The video of the encounter has since gone viral on social media. Tension was at the boiling point, with Wike calling Yerima a boy, a fool, and so many other derogatory words.
Yerima remained civil but firm. At the end of the day, Wike had to leave the scene to deescalate the tension, as his security details and the Yerima’s team were about exchanging bullets. Since the incident, Nigerians have been divided as to who was right and who was at fault. In my view, the incident represents the malady that is now Nigeria, which has somehow evolved into a country for the privileged few and a nation no longer governed by laws.
The law is now only being applied to the masses like you and I. The rich fat cats don’t respect the law. In fact, it is not meant for them. If they are caught breaking it, they have a way of bending them to suit their narratives and interests. To survive in Nigeria, you must have loads of money, which can guarantee having your way with almost anything.
In my opinion, both Wike and Yerima were at fault. Wike became power drunk and acted irrationally in the course of his supervisory duties. Following the report by his men that they were denied access by the naval ratings, Wike had no business going back to make a scene. To do what? One would wonder what he hoped to achieve confronting a man with loaded guns?
A brief background to the crisis:
At the heart of the drama lies two parcels of land at Gaduwa: Park No. 161, Cadastral Zone A03, Garki II, and Green Area Plot 1946 (A, B, C), Cadastral Zone B13, Gaduwa. The area was designated as a Park and Garden in the Abuja Development Master Plan. Both were later allocated to another company, which later sub-leased the land to another company.
It was from there that the land was converted to a residential property, and the retired Naval Chief bought a piece of the land. Wike and his team are insisting that the land sold to the current property owner, Gambo, was a scam, as the area was not designed for residential purposes. To them, Gambo should face those who sold the land to him and recover his money rather than using naval ratings to prevent those saddled with the responsibility of maintaining law and order over Abuja land.
If you are not a resident of Abuja, you won’t appreciate what many people are going through to secure a piece of land. Having a plot of land in Abuja is like having a piece of gold worth several millions of Naira.
Aside from the corrupt nature of civil servants in charge of the process, a plot could be allocated to up to four different people or companies. Many residents in Abuja now prefer to own and build houses in adjourning states like Suleja in Niger State, Mararaba in Nasarawa State, and in Kaduna state.
As pointed out earlier, Wike had no business going to Gaduwa.
From the comfort of his office, he could have resolved the crisis with phone calls. He had the options of calling the Chief of Naval Staff, the Defence Minister, or even the retired Naval Chief that bought the land to point out the illegality of the purchase. If his phone calls did not achieve the desired result, he could have directed his staff to follow the proper channels of Alternative Dispute Resolution or the High Court.
As for the young Yerima, although he was obeying an order of his superior, he probably didn’t know if the order was lawful or illegal. The question begging an answer is: How can a retired Chief of Naval Staff deploy a Lieutenant to lead a team of Naval ratings to guard his private property? That is a glaring case of misuse of power. A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and constitutional law expert, Prof. Sebastine Hon faulted Yerima’s confrontation with the Minister, insisting that his action was a “breach of the law.”
Reacting to the incident in a Facebook post on Wednesday, Hon condemned the officer’s decision to obstruct Wike’s access to the disputed plot of land, saying that the act could not be justified under any lawful military order. “Brushing sentiments aside, I hereby condemn in totality, the actions of the Naval Officer, A.M. Yerima, who obstructed the FCT Minister from gaining access to that parcel of land under the guise of “obeying superior orders”.
The duty of a junior officer to obey the orders of his superiors, even though strongly upheld in military and paramilitary circles, has its own limitations recognised by no other authority but the Supreme Court of Nigeria. Hon cited Supreme Court rulings in Onunze v. State (2023) 8 NWLR (Pt. 1885) 61 and Nigeria Air Force v. James (2002) 18 NWLR (Pt. 798) 295, which, according to him, clearly established that military officers are not bound to obey illegal or manifestly unjust orders.
“The illegality in that order stems primarily from the fact that no service law of the military permits a serving military officer to mount guard at the private construction site of his boss, especially under suspicious circumstances like this.” He added that if security concerns existed, the retired Naval Officer ought, under the circumstances, to have engaged the civil police.
Relationship between those with civil authority and military men have been a cat-and-mouse game in the past, marked by mutual respect and suspicion from both sides. In July 2017, former Governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Raji Fashola, ‘’arrested’’ two military officers for driving on BRT dedicated lanes in Lagos State.
The two military officers, who were accosted on the BRT lane at the Outer Marina in Central Lagos, were Colonel K. I. Yusuf, who drove in an Army Green Peugeot 406 with registration Number BO1 – 150 NA, and Staff Sergeant Adeomi A.J, who drove in a black Toyota Camry car. But realising that the game was up, Col. Yusuf came down from his car, saluted Fashola several times and kept muttering: “I am sorry, very, very sorry”, with the Governor enquiring why a senior military officer, Yusuf, chose to break the law instead of preserving it.
Few days later, General Kenneth Minimah, the then General
Officer commanding 81 division, handed a fine of N25,000 each as stipulated by the Lagos State Government Law for those who drove on BRT lanes. “No military personnel is above the law,” the Army General said.
He added that the action of the two officers arrested by Fashola was against the Lagos State traffic law and regardless of their apology to the Governor, would still pay the N25,000 fine.
General Minimah said that the fine would serve as a deterrent to others, charging other soldiers to obey the laws of the state, including not driving on the BRT lane. “No army personnel should take the BRT lane because they are designated for buses. If we get it right, it is for our common good.’’
He said that the law was meant for Lagos residents, and the military should help Lagosians to abide by it.
“In this regard, we will continue to help the State Government in enforcing the law,’’ he concluded.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, in January, 2022, almost embarrassed himself when he ordered a Chief Superintendent of Police, Abimbola Oyewole, to vacate a property at the Magodo Phase 2 Estate under dispute. Oyewole politely told Sanwo-Olu that he does not take orders from him but from the Inspector-General of Police via the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami.
He further told Sanwo-Olu to get across to the duo directly. Sanwo-Olu had visited the Magodo Phase 2 Estate after residents protested the presence of armed police officers and members of the Shangisha Landlord Association who were enforcing a Supreme Court judgment related to a land dispute. Sanwo-olu did get across to those who sent Oyewole, and the police subsequently left the estate.
Wike, by descending to the gutter, calling Yerima names in front of the camera, enraged both serving and retired military officers. He weakened the dignity of his office and exposed himself and President Bola Tinubu, who appointed him to public odium.
He should do more in cleaning up the mess that land administration has become in Abuja rather than going after those who are victims of corrupt government officials in the FCTA and Abuja Geographical Information System (AGIS).
See you next week.
- Akintunde is the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Glittersonline newspaper. His syndicated column, Monday Discourse, appears on News Point Nigeria newspaper on Monday.