Naval Officers possibly acting on the orders of the retired Vice Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo ( rtd) former Chief of Naval Staff, on Monday attacked the Federal Capital Territory ( FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike.
Wike, who in company of other senior officers of the FCT administration had arrived at plot 1946, Buffer Transit Southern Park Way, Gaduwa District, belonging to the retired Vice Admiral Gambo, where an illegal development was said to be going on, met resistant squad drafted from the Naval Base.
The armed military officers who had blocked the entrance to the plot with their truck, preventing bulldozers from the Department of Development Control from gaining access to the site for demolition, also attacked the Minister, insisting that he would not be granted access.
While the Minister made his way into the site, followed by his security aides, despite the blockage, the Military officers stood by the way, shoved the Minister aside , declaring that they obeying an order.
The Minister, after making and receiving calls turned back from the spot where the military officers blocked him, but vowed that he will not allow the illegal development to go on.
Wike disclosed that the retired Naval officer does not have any paper or approval to develop the land, but wants to grab the land by intimidation.
Wike said, “ I don’t understand how somebody who attend that position and he said that he has a problem cannot approach my office to say, look, this is what is going on, this is what is going on. But simply because he’s a military man, he could use that to intimidate Nigerians. I’m not one of those kind of persons that will succumb to blackmail or intimidation.
“ And you can imagine where you cannot even prove where are the documents. And 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. And 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? It has gotten to a level where when government officials are doing, carrying out their job, you go and bring security to intimidate them. And this government official, I will not accept that.
“ I’ve spoken to the Chief of Defence Staff and I’ve spoken to the Chief of Naval Staff and they have assured me that, please, they have to resolve the matter. And we’re not coming here to have a shootout with anybody to cause chaos and all. But what I can say, I would not allow it to happen.
“ 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 deployment on land grounds simply because he was a former Chief of Naval Staff. I would not allow that”.