By Charles Pemu 
ABUJA—The high-stakes land dispute in Abuja between the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, and former Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo (retd.), escalated today after the current Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Idi Abbas, was photographed visiting the contested property.
The visit, which included Lt. A.M. Yaremi (the officer who had a faceoff with Minister Wike), signals the military’s firm involvement in the controversy surrounding the land, which Wike’s team alleges was fraudulently acquired for a private project.
The tension stems from a clash that occurred on Tuesday, November 11, when Minister Wike and his entourage attempted to stop an ongoing construction project on the disputed land. Wike argued that the land was not properly acquired by the former CNS and was, in fact, designated for public use.
During the confrontation, Lt. A.M. Yaremi stood his ground and prevented Wike and his team from gaining access to the parcel of land and stopping the construction. This defiance led to a public row, with Wike’s conduct subsequently being labeled as a “serious threat to national security” by former Chief of Army Staff, General Tukur Yusuf Buratai (rtd).
Wike’s Senior Special Assistant on Publicity, Lere Olayinka, has since defended the Minister’s actions, claiming the former Naval Chief was “scammed” into buying a plot allocated for park and recreation purposes and that he resorted to using “military might” to claim ownership.
The appearance of Rear Admiral Idi Abbas and his team at the site is seen as a direct response to the FCT Minister’s attempt to halt the construction and dismantle the structure. It underscores the military’s commitment to protecting the interests of the retired CNS and raises the conflict from an administrative land dispute to a major institutional confrontation.