Daily Trust Editorial, Monday November 17, 2025
A needless and avoidable incident took place on Tuesday, November 11, 2025, with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom WIke, seen in a viral video with armed police and other security personnel confronting deployed soldiers led by a subaltern, Lt A.M. Yarima, who was acting on orders of former Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), retired Vice Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo.
This was in respect of a land in Gaduwa District, Abuja. Wike accused Admiral Gambo of erecting structures on a contentious property but the officer was unyielding.
In an unlikely subversion of expected roles, the minister was seen using abusive language, denigrating the officer with “You are a fool,” You are a big fool,” and “Shut up!” These are not words associated with civility. They are indecorous.
And the officer remained calm, disciplined, and procedure-oriented. It was a public display of class act in confrontation, professionalism and ridicule.
We at Daily Trust are not going into the legality of ownership of the land between Admiral Gambo and FCTA or providing answers to the many questions on what subaltern and his soldiers were doing in the disputed land in the first place.
But the issue is this: Was it imperative for the minister to be personally on ground for the rules to be enforced? We believe that it was not part of his procedural duty to be physically present. The reason is that there are laid down administrative and legal procedures to handle such issues. And so, we believe that his presence was jumping and abuse of such procedure.
What came out of the altercation had unintended consequences for civil-military relations especially when emotional outburst trumped protocol and acceptable behaviour. Also, the optics from the incident could put a question mark on the value placed on landed properties as collateral. And this is important because land remains visible wealth.
We admit that Section 297 vests all land in the FCT in the Federal Government of Nigeria, held in trust by the President and Section 299 provides that the FCT shall be administered as if it were a state, but the president exercises executive powers through the Minister of the FCT who acts as the “Governor.” But the minister carried his office and person and precariously the federal government into disrepute by going there and exchanging words with a Navy Lieutenant, equivalent of Captain in the Army.
The spectacle was disturbing as Nigerians, who are just forgetting the brutal years of military rule, overwhelmingly picked sides with a soldier against a minister of a democratically elected government. Obviously, the minister seemingly adopted militaristic approach instead of democratic civility, becoming a kicker for unfortunate celebration of the lieutenant.
This was not meant to be had there been mutual respect and impartation of protocol literacy by officials of the state. We at Daily Trust insist that such scene must not repeat itself again as its misunderstanding or misapplication could undermine not only civil oversight but also the military’s internal command integrity. We also believe that if the right procedures were followed, such an unnecessary volatile and explosive situation could have been avoided.
Therefore, we call on all officials of government, at all levels, to always follow the normal chain of command in conflict resolution. Instead of unnecessary public spectacles, some issues can easily be resolved through routine administrative procedures. We, therefore, call on all functionaries of government to exercise their authority with civility and necessary decorum.
We also urge all top government functionaries to always remember that they are guardians of process and overseers of administrative procedures. As such, being stewards of the people, they must always act in dignified and self-respectful manner. Towards this, issues arising from governance should be resolved through institutional channels and instrument of state in order not to violate the principle of ordered government. There are issues that can be handled with exercise of proper notice, legal backing – administrative or summons, or inter-agency correspondence.
Daily Trust also expresses its disappointment that the minister’s chief detail allowed him to remain long in that environment filled with heightened rhetoric, guns and armed personnel trying to impress superiors. He and his team failed in their duty. The situation was dangerous and they exposed the minister when their primary duty is to ensure that at no circumstances should his principal be remotely exposed to risk.
We call on Department of State Security (DSS) and Nigeria Police to retrain the security details and escort teams attached to Very Important Personalities (VIPs). They must understand that their first duty is to prioritise the safety of their principals including not allowing them to walk or get into unnecessary altercation or circumstances where they could lose face or be defaced.
We call on our leaders to exercise distinct, excellent and highest form of behaviour and service and avoid elevating dishonourable actions as normality or part of Nigeria’s governance culture. Such unnecessary drama could erroneously corrode discipline and erode trust in hierarchy.
Knowing that Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution (as amended), in Fifth Schedule, Part I on general Code of Conduct for Public Officers has no explicit provisions addressing language, decorum, or verbal abuse, we call on President Bola Tinubu to issue a supplementary code that explicitly mandates respectful communication, promotes ethical speech, and imposes sanctions for violations among officials of government.
Such a framework would align with global best practices while addressing Nigeria’s unique cultural and political setting where inflammatory rhetoric could easily ignite tensions. Our country is currently under immense internal and external pressure and we must bring our best foot forward by instituting greater decorum, restraint, civilized and acceptable code of conduct in all our public conducts.
