TUESDAY’S confrontation in Gaduwa District between the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, and naval officers allegedly acting on the orders of former Navy Chief, Awwal Gambo, again highlights a clear misuse of power long after the end of military rule. Worse, it signals a gross misallocation of critical national resources.

This incident, which centred on an attempt to demolish an unapproved building on a disputed land parcel allegedly linked to Gambo, was aborted by military deployment to protect private interests rather than wider national interests for which the Armed Forces are dedicated.

As the FCT minister sought to enforce a demolition order against a structure without FCT Administration approval, naval officers, claiming superior orders, blocked him and his team.

The encounter quickly escalated into a tense standoff, captured in viral videos showing threats of military violence toward civilian officials, police officers, and DSS security details over a private property the minister insists has no valid approval or allocation papers.

This episode is profoundly incongruous in a democracy. Military discipline, while sacrosanct, must be subject to civilian authority.

This sordid spectacle reflects a troubling waste of military resources. Nigeria grapples with relentless security challenges, including Boko Haram insurgency, banditry, oil theft, and other violent crimes.

Yet, the military is being deployed to guard a contested private construction site within Nigeria’s capital, diverting troops from frontline security duties.

This borderline arrogance and abuse of power by serving and former military commanders, which veils private interests under the guise of uniformed authority, should not be tolerated.

The incident echoes that of January 2022, where police officers drafted from Abuja on the orders of the Inspector-General of Police defied the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s directive to vacate a disputed parcel of land in the Magodo Phase 2 Estate.

The FCT minister wields significant constitutional powers over land allocation, use, and development within Abuja. The minister’s office is empowered to approve or revoke land rights and ensure compliance with urban planning regulations.

Lere Olayinka, Wike’s media aide, has since claimed that the former CNS was duped into buying land allocated for parks and recreation by a company that had subdivided the plot for onward sale to other buyers, even though its application to convert the land to commercial use was denied in 2022 before Wike came into office.

This and similar land disputes should ideally be resolved through administrative or judicial channels, not military standoffs.

Gambo should have approached the courts for a restraining order against the FCT minister or entered into negotiations instead of resorting to self-help, just because he can influence the military.

However, the altercation exposes shortcomings on Wike’s part. He should have secured a valid court order to carry out the demolition.

His approach appeared impulsive, proceeding with enforcement actions without allowing a reasonable window for amicable dialogue or legal contestation.

While he has demonstrably sanitised the land allocation system in the FCT and enforced payment of land charges by thousands of defaulters, deploying bulldozers should not be the first line of enforcement.

In a democracy, the proper route for resolving disputes is the courts, not forceful demolition, which can result in the breakdown of law and order.

Moreover, the speech and demeanour adopted by Wike during the confrontation have exposed him to public ridicule. His use of uncouth language on the naval officer is indecorous and belittles his office.

Every Nigerian deserves respect and civil conduct from public officials, despite the tensions at play. In contrast, the naval officer in charge, identified as A.M. Yerima, maintained composure and discipline under provocation.

The former Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, framed the minister’s behaviour as a national security threat undermining the military chain of command and the authority of the Commander-in-Chief and demanded a public apology from Wike. This line was echoed by Osita Chidoka, former Minister of Aviation.

However, this framing is incorrect and misleading. The main issue is not disrespect or security but an abuse of military power and a dangerous precedent of military interference in civilian land governance.

For democracy to deepen in Nigeria, military authority must be subordinate to civilian rule, but exercised transparently and lawfully. Land governance must follow due process, while arbitrary enforcement actions must be curtailed.

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Bala, Alade, Lamidi, Adaghe, Dan’amu served Form 48 Notice

Akinwunmi, Ademola-Bello SAN and Adedeji SAN face both contempt, debarment and derobing petitions to Legal and Judicial authorities for disobeying court orders with impunity and bringing the judiciary into disrepute

General Hydrocarbons Limited (GHL), its Directors and Shareholders have commenced contempt proceedings against senior officials of Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) for misleading the Federal High Court, Lagos and Justice Akintayo Aluko and not disclosing a substantive injunction issued by Justice A. Lewis-Allagoa of the same Federal High Court, Lagos days earlier, which restrained them from taking any steps whatsoever towards *APPOINTING OR CONTINUING WITH* any appointment of a Receiver over GHL.

In a gross abuse of court process, AMCON and its lawyers failed to disclose to Justice Aluko that Justice Lewis Allagoa had in fact restrained AMCON from appointing or continuing any receivership when they obtained the Order Ex Parte. Furthermore, they misrepresented the facts that there was an Eligible Bank Asset (EBA) issued by AMCON to GHL; this is not true. Indeed, AMCON made a part-payment and deposit towards a First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) EBA and made Tranche 1 payment to First Bank of Nigeria Limited (FBN), and did not make the 2nd and final payment to FBN to complete the consideration towards an EBA.

FBN has since offered to return this EBA deposit in Letters to AMCON and processes filed in Court. Instead of pursuing FBN, AMCON, for some curious and inexplicable reasons, is seeking to go after GHL, despite all their correspondence to the contrary, blaming FBN, which are all before the Courts.

Following this, the Form 48 – Notice of consequence of disobedience of court orders has now been issued against the following:

*Dr Bala Bello (Chairman of AMCON);*

*Mr Gbenga Alade (MD of AMCON);*

*Mr Adeshola Lamidi (ED of AMCON);*

*Mr Lucky Adaghe (ED of AMCON);*

*Dr Aminu Mukhtar Dan’amu (ED of AMCON);*

*Mr Oluseyi Akinwunmi (purported Receiver appointed by AMCON);*

*Mr Bidemi Ademola-Bello SAN (Counsel to AMCON and the MD of AMCON, who was in Court when Honourable Justice A. Lewis-Allagoa made the order and he undertook in open Court to abide by the orders of the Court); and*

*Mr Ade Adedeji SAN (Counsel to AMCON and the MD of AMCON, whose firm is representing AMCON and the MD of AMCON).*

Justice A. Lewis-Allagoa has now ordered substituted service of the Contempt processes to all of the above-named persons through their official email addresses and WhatsApp phone numbers, and/or by delivering same to them at their official addresses and/or by publishing same in at least two newspapers with nationwide circulation in Nigeria, and other news media with nationwide presence in Nigeria.

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The Anioma State Creation Movement has commended the Senator representing Delta North in the National Assembly, Ned Nwoko, for leading the agitation to create Anioma State out of Delta State.

The group said the idea — despite opposition from some quarters — promises political recognition, job creation, and economic empowerment for the Anioma people wherever they live.

In late October, the Joint Committee of the Senate and House of Representatives on Constitution Review approved the creation of an additional state in the South-East geopolitical zone.

According to a statement by the media unit of the committee, the resolution was reached at a two-day retreat in Lagos, where it reviewed 55 proposals for state creation across the country.

The session, chaired by the Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, and co-chaired by the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, resolved that, in the spirit of fairness and equity, the Federal Government should create another state for the region.

In a statement on Monday, the movement’s Media Director, Osita Oganah, described Nwoko — who has been championing the call for the creation of the state — as “a focused and patriotic leader” whose efforts, it noted, had rekindled a decades-long struggle for fair representation of the region.

The statement added that some voices from the Anioma area, including civil society actors, traditional leaders, and members of the diaspora, also backed the movement’s position.

An indigene of Agbor resident in Abuja, Ngozi Okolo, said the senator’s influence and resources had advanced a cause that “will benefit everyone who is Igbo, irrespective of educational or financial status.”

Similarly, Dr Chukwuka Nwaka of Kwale described the initiative as the long-awaited “liberation” of Delta Igbos, adding that it marked “the end of a struggle dating back to the 1950s.”

According to Oganah, the Anioma people, who share linguistic and cultural ties with the Igbos of Anambra, Abia, Imo, and Ebonyi states, are distinct from other ethnic groups in the South-South region.

He said the proposed state naturally aligns with the South-East geopolitical zone and would help balance Nigeria’s zonal structure, as the South-East remains the only zone with five states.

“We cannot wish for a more focused and patriotic leader to lead us to the promised land of freedom, empowerment, and equitable recognition,” Oganah said.

In September, Ned Nwoko said the agitation for the creation of Anioma State was about correcting historical imbalances.

Nwoko, who had sponsored a motion for the creation of Anioma State in the National Assembly, stated this while addressing participants at the Igbo Unification Movement, a two-day event held in Asaba, the Delta State capital.

“The agitation for the creation of Anioma State is not about politics or personal ambition, but about correcting historical imbalances, and I have said over time that my dream is for an Ndokwa son or daughter to emerge as the first governor of Anioma State when it is created,” he said.

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