The Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, has declared that the action of the Naval officer, Lieutenant A. Yerima in Tuesday’s encounter with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, was lawful.
In the first place, it was unnecessary and avoidable, Matawalle said.
Matawalle revealed this while fielding questions from DCL Hausa, released on its YouTube channel on Wednesday, that the matter could have been resolved through official channels rather than a public exchange.
Matawalle said Yerima acted strictly on instructions and maintained a professional and disciplined attitude throughout the encounter.
“He (Wike) is our colleague, and Wike could have reached out to us to resolve whatever issue. The officer’s action was lawful because he was trained to be disciplined, loyal, and obedient to orders. Therefore, the young officer only carried out his duty worthy of commendation,” he stated.
The Minister said Yerima did not violate any military rule and conducted himself properly.
“He did not commit any offence under military regulations; he merely obeyed a lawful order and followed due process. If you observe carefully, he spoke respectfully and conducted himself properly,” Matawalle added.
He said the minister had earlier reached out to both the Chief of Defence Staff and the Chief of Naval Staff, who advised him to allow the military to investigate the matter before taking any action.
“What happened between Minister Wike and the officer is unfortunate. When he got there, the officer explained that he was simply obeying orders given to him. Wike should not have exchanged words with the officer; he ought to have addressed his concerns through the officer’s superiors,” the minister said.
The minister further advised public officials against disrespecting uniformed personnel, adding that doing so undermines the authority of the President, who is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.
“There is, therefore, no offence under military law for which he should be charged. Wike should not have engaged him in an altercation, especially out of respect for the uniform he was wearing. Anyone who disrespects a soldier indirectly disrespects the President, who is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. There is, therefore, no basis for any punishment against the officer,” he said.
Matawalle said he was not endorsing indisciplineby military personnel but stating the importance of following the chain of command.
“This is not about supporting the military to act disrespectfully toward civilians. The Minister should understand that every officer has superiors. I gathered that he called the Chief of Defence Staff, who advised him to wait for an investigation,” adding that Wike turned down the advice and instead went to confront the officers on site.
“As a leader, he ought to have exercised patience and waited for the outcome of the investigation,” Matawalle said, adding that the Chief of Naval Staff gave Wike assurance that an inquiry would be carried out, but the FCT Minister still went to the location.
“Wike also contacted the Chief of Naval Staff, who assured him that an investigation would be conducted. Yet again, he did not wait. It was supposed to be a one-day inquiry, but he chose to go there and confront them,” he noted.
Matawalle said the Chief of Naval Staff has since visited the land in dispute to begin a formal investigation into the ownership of the land.
“Now that the Chief of Naval Staff has visited the area—since it involves a land dispute—the matter will be investigated to know who owns the lawful documents,” he said.
The Minister said if any revocation of the land was necessary, it should have been done through proper administrative and diplomatic procedures rather than confrontation.
“If the land has been revoked, there are established procedures to be followed diplomatically,” Matawalle stated.
The minister said the Ministry of Defence has yet to receive a formal complaint from Wike over the incident, adding that he personally reached out to the FCT Minister after the video went viral.
“I called him after the video went viral and advised that he should have spoken with me before going there, rather than confronting the officers directly,” Matawalle added.
The confrontations were as a result of a disagreement over the ownership of a piece of land in Gaduwa District in Abuja guarded by armed Naval officers led by Yerima, who was said to be acting on the orders of a former Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Zubairu Gambo (retd.) who Wike said illegally seized the land.
