Naval Officer’s Standoff with Wike, Blatant Breach of Law, Says SAN

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Prof. Sebastine Hon, condemned the heated confrontation between Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike and a naval officer, A.M. Yerima, over a disputed land in Abuja, describing officer’s actions as a “breach of the law.”

In a Facebook post, Hon faulted the naval officer’s decision to obstruct Wike’s access to the land, citing Supreme Court rulings 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,” Hon stated.

“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 added.

As FCT Minister, Wike exercises presidential powers over land administration in Abuja, pursuant to Sections 297(2) and 302 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended). “Going by constitutional and administrative law, Mr Wike stood in loco of the President of Nigeria and Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces on that fateful day,” Hon emphasized.

Wike himself addressed the press after the confrontation, saying, “I do not understand how somebody who attained that position sees that he has a problem and cannot approach my office to say, ‘look, this is what is going on,’ but simply because he is a military man, he could use that to intimidate Nigerians. I am not one who will succumb to blackmail or intimidation.”

Hon warned that condoning such acts could embolden security personnel to disrespect civil authority. “If such intolerable conduct by the young officer is not punished or is celebrated, this may unleash a reign of terror by the men in khaki against hapless civilians — with a grin or boast that ‘we did it to Wike and nothing happened,’” he concluded.