Matawale Says Minister Shouldn’t Have Confronted Naval Officer During Wike Clash

Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, has ruled out the possibility of disciplinary action against Lieutenant Ahmad Yerima, the naval officer who engaged in a heated verbal confrontation with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, during an enforcement visit to a disputed land in Abuja.

Naija News reports that Matawalle gave the assurance in an interview with DCL Hausa, while reacting to viral footage of the encounter, which has sparked a national debate over civil–military relations and the limits of political authority.

The minister said the face-off was unnecessary and should have been routed through proper administrative channels rather than a public confrontation.

He said, “The minister should not have confronted him. Lieutenant Yerima was acting on orders. If Wike had any concerns, he should have spoken to his superiors or to me directly since I oversee naval affairs.”

He applauded Yerima for maintaining decorum throughout the exchange, despite the tense atmosphere.

“You can clearly see that he was respectful while standing his ground. As far as we are concerned, he did not break any law or military regulation,” he noted.

The incident occurred on Monday at Plot 1946, Gaduwa District, where Wike accused soldiers of obstructing officials of the FCT Department of Development Control from enforcing a stop-work order.

The land is allegedly linked to a former Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo (retd.), while soldiers on site insisted they were acting on instructions “from above.”

Wike claimed the developers possessed no valid documents or statutory approvals for the ongoing construction.

Matawalle also confirmed that the Chief of Naval Staff had launched an investigation into the ownership and status of the disputed property, though he clarified that no official petition had yet been received from Wike.

He added, “This whole situation was avoidable. “Before the minister went there, he had already spoken with the Chief of Defence Staff and the Chief of Naval Staff, who assured him that the matter would be looked into.”