The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, on Wednesday, personally led a taskforce to halt an alleged illegal development and land grabbing by the Nigerian Military in the Gaduwa district of the nation’s capital city.
The Minister, in a dramatic on-site confrontation with military officers, declared that he would not be intimidated by the personnel, insisting that the rule of law must prevail.
The intervention followed reports that officials from the FCT Department of Development Control were previously chased away from Plot 1946 by soldiers, an action the Minister described as “unfortunate” and a symptom of the lawlessness plaguing the country.
Addressing journalists at the site, Wike recounted how he was compelled to visit the location after receiving a distress call that military personnel had taken over the area to prevent his officials from carrying out their duties.
“You are aware that the land departments and the development control have been mandated to see where illegal development and land grabbing is going on.
“When this was brought to my attention, I did instruct them to make sure that nothing takes place in as much as they did not have any legal paper in terms of regional approval or even the acquisition of the land,” he said.
He expressed his disappointment that instead of resolving the matter through official channels, the military resorted to intimidation.
“I was informed that the soldiers of the military had to chase them away and I thought probably they would be acting illegally. I have to come by myself to see things for myself,” he said.
The minister revealed that the military officers on site claimed to be acting on the instructions of a former Chief of Naval Staff, condemning this approach, and questioning why a person of such stature would not approach his office formally.
“I don’t understand how somebody who attained that position cannot approach my office to say, ‘look, this is what is going on.’ But simply because he’s a military man, he could use that to intimidate Nigerians.
“I am not one of those kind of persons that will succumb to blackmail or intimidation,” Wike said.
He highlighted the core of the issue, pointing out that the developers had no legal documents to back their claim to the land or their construction activities.
“The Director of Development Control said, ‘look, I was here. I said bring the documents, you don’t have the documents. Bring the approval for building, you don’t have it.’
“How can we continue to allow lawlessness to prevail in this country? What about those who don’t have the military? What about those who don’t have security?” he asked.
Despite the tension, the Minister stated that he has already engaged with the highest level of the military command to resolve the matter peacefully.
“I have spoken to the Chief of Defence Staff and I have spoken to the Chief of Naval Staff and they have assured me that they have to resolve the matter. We’re not coming here to have a shootout with anybody to cause chaos,” he said.
He, however, remained resolute in his position, vowing that the same standards of enforcement applied to all citizens would be applied in Gaduwa.
“The way we have done and carried out our jobs in other areas is the same way it will be done here. He will not carry out this illegal development on land simply because he is a former Chief of Naval Staff. I would not allow that,” he said.
The FCT Administration has now sealed the site, pending a full resolution of the land dispute and the presentation of valid legal documents by the claimants.
