Wike vs Yerima: Lawyer calls for prosecution of soldiers

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Mr. Princewill Dike, a lawyer from Port Harcourt, has demanded that soldiers who prevented Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike from entering a house in Abuja on Tuesday be arrested and prosecuted.

Dike’s remarks came after the minister and military troops got into a fight at a site being developed in the Federal Capital Territory.

The military soldiers claimed that after FCTA officials continued to harass and intimidate workers at the site, a former Chief of Naval Staff, the property owner, stationed them there.

In a video that went viral on social media, Lieutenant A.M. Yerima, a navy officer, was seen telling the FCT Minister that he was following orders from his principal, Vice Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo, (retd.).

Minister Wike, however, insisted that the home in question did not have the necessary building approval.

The minister and his representatives were nevertheless refused entry to the location by the military.

In response to the event, Dike denounced the military personnel’s behavior.

Dike questioned why the former navy chief would disobey the minister’s order to stop any development on FCT lands without building approval and a Title of Instrument.

The minister represents the federal government in the nation’s capital, and he characterized the altercation as a rude challenge to his authority.

He stated: “Impunity cannot continue in this country. What occurred between the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, and certain soldiers in the FCT should be condemned by all Nigerians.

“Instead of complying, soldiers were deployed to confront the minister by the illegal owner of the property, former Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo.

“The soldiers threatened to shoot the minister and officials of the FCTA Department of Development Control. Yet, Minister Wike remained steadfast and unthreatened.”

Dike added that the harassment went beyond the minister and was a direct insult to President Bola Tinubu, who had given Wike jurisdiction over FCT-related issues.

“Unbeknownst to them, it is not the minister they harassed, but the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Bola Tinubu, who authorized him to act on his behalf in all matters relating to the FCT.

“The Wike we know will not allow this property to be developed unlawfully, and the soldiers who acted with impunity must be held accountable.”

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