The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), has condemned the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, over the viral video showing him verbally assaulting a military officer on official duty.
Recall that Wike and the Naval officer, Lt A.M Yerima, had a faceoff over a parcel of land in dispute, allegedly belonging to former Chief of Naval Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo.
This led to a faceoff with Wike hurling insults on the officer who was defiant.
But, NANS, in a statement by its National President of NANS, Comrade Atiku Isah, said it watched with dismay as the minister was seen in the viral clip insulting an officer who had been lawfully detailed by his superior to guard a parcel of land.
They criticised Wike for what it described as an act of disrespect and arrogance, stressing that the minister erred by attempting to forcefully encroach on a land belonging to a former Chief of Naval Staff who, according to the group, had served the nation meritoriously.
“The officer was carrying out a lawful order by his superior and does not deserve to be insulted.
“However, the composure and restraint of the officer show how disciplined the military is. The officer was professional and disciplined.
“It is unbecoming of the minister to speak disrespectfully to people. The Naval Chief deserves to be respected and should have been invited for dialogue instead of being humiliated,” the statement said.
The students’ body urged President Bola Tinubu to caution the FCT Minister, saying NANS would not sit idly by while those who have served the nation in uniform are disrespected.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s Minister of Defence, Mohammad Badaru Abubakar, has said that no officer or soldier on lawful duty will be punished as a result of the altercation that ensued between soldiers and the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike.
This is even as the coalition of retired veterans of the Nigerian military had vowed that their members would mobilise and occupy the Ministry of the FCT in Abuja if the officer who said he was acting on a lawful order was punished in any way.
Abubakar while speaking on Wednesday on the occasion of the ministerial briefing on to flag off the 2026 Armed Forces Celebration and remembrance day celebration at the National Defence College.
He said: “Well, at the Ministry, and indeed the Armed Forces, we will always protect our officers on lawful duty.
“So we are looking into this issue, and we. assure that any officer on lawful duty will be protected highly, so we will not allow anything to happen to him so far he is doing his job, and he’s doing his job greatly well.”
