The conduct of Naval officer, Lieutenant A M Yerima, was not an insubordination to Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, Chief Femi Falana (SAN), has said.
Lt. Yerima led a team of Naval personnel to prevent the minister from entering a property belonging to a former Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo(retd).
Falana said, “Wike went off track when he subjected the military officer to verbal assault, including calling him a fool.
“Even when the minister was calling him a fool, he politely reacted by saying “I am not a fool, sir,” Falana said in an interview with The Punch.
“But out of sheer maturity, the officer politely said, “I am not a fool, sir.” As a gentleman, the officer refused to be provoked by the minister’s verbal assault.
“Lt. Yerima is entitled to the fundamental right to the dignity of his person which was violated by the minister.
“Calling him a fool in a public place is not acceptable. The President should direct Mr Wike to apologise to the military officer.
Falana, however, agreed that Wike as the FCT Minister, has the right to enter any land and property within the territory.
He blamed Wike for verbally assaulting Lt. Yerima, saying the Minister should have gone to court to amicably resolve the issue.
Falana said, “Wike ought to have withdrawn from the site and proceed to report the officer to the relevant military authorities or file a suit at the FCT High Court for the purpose of obtaining an order to enable him to enter and inspect the land.”
Relying on Section 11 of the Land Use Act, Falana said Wike “is empowered to enter and inspect land comprising any statutory right of occupancy or any improvements effected thereon, at any reasonable hours in the day time.
“The law equally requires the occupier to permit and give free access to the minister to enter and inspect the land. By preventing the minister from gaining access to the land in question, the military officer contravened the law.”
According to Falana, the former Naval chief was wrong to have deployed the officer to guard his property, saying such action went against the Armed Forces Act, which he said, “do not permit him to deploy any member of the Armed Forces to guard his landed property in any manner whatsoever.”
The SAN said what the former CNS should have done was to go to court “instead of using force, Admiral Gambo should have sued the minister and sought legal protection.”
Falana also faulted Yerima for obeying his former boss, saying “Lt. Yerima should have declined to be turned into a guard by the retired service chief.”
“The superior order that he is required to obey must be legal and related to military assignments. The particular order in question cannot be said to be legal since guarding a private property is not a military assignment.”
