Prof. Sebastine Hon, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and constitutional law expert, has criticized Naval Officer A.M. Yerima for his confrontation with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, calling the officer’s behavior a “breach of the law.”
In a post on Facebook on Wednesday, Hon condemned Yerima’s attempt to block Wike from accessing a disputed land in Abuja. He argued that the action could not be justified under any lawful military directive.
“Brushing sentiments aside, I hereby condemn in totality the actions of Naval Officer A.M. Yerima, who obstructed the FCT Minister from entering that parcel of land, under the guise of ‘obeying superior orders,’” Hon wrote.
Hon cited Nigerian Supreme Court rulings, including Onunze v. State (2023) 8 NWLR (Pt. 1885) 61 and Nigeria Air Force v. James (2002) 18 NWLR (Pt. 798) 295, to emphasize that military officers are not required to follow illegal or clearly unjust orders. He added that no military law allows a serving officer to guard a private construction site on behalf of their superior, especially under questionable circumstances.
“If there were genuine security concerns, the officer should have engaged the civil police instead,” Hon said.
The law professor highlighted that as FCT Minister, Wike exercises powers delegated by the President of Nigeria over land administration in Abuja, referencing Sections 297(2) and 302 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended). “Even if the superior officer were still in service, he should not have disobeyed or blocked Mr. Wike from entering the land. This was an affront to civil authority,” he added.
While noting that Wike’s approach may have been forceful, Hon stressed that the minister’s actions were lawful. He warned that if such conduct by military personnel is tolerated, it could embolden others to disregard civil authority. “If this intolerable conduct by the young officer is not punished, it may encourage men in uniform to harass civilians with impunity,” he said.
The incident occurred on Tuesday at Plot 1946, Gaduwa District, Abuja, when FCT officials, under Wike’s orders, tried to enforce a stop-work order on a site lacking proper title documents. A widely circulated video shows the minister and his team being blocked by uniformed personnel, with heated exchanges between Wike and Yerima.
After the confrontation, Wike accused the military and land developers of land grabbing, asserting he would not be intimidated. “I do not understand how someone in that position sees a problem and cannot approach my office, but simply uses military status to intimidate Nigerians. I am not one to succumb to blackmail or intimidation,” he said.
