The Nigerian Navy officer, Lt. A.M. Yerima, who recently had an altercation with the Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike was reportedly escaped an assassination attempt on Sunday evening.
Military sources told Vanguard Newspaper that Yarima was trailed by unidentified men dressed in black and riding in two unmarked Hilux vans with no number plates.
The vehicles allegedly followed him around 6:30 p.m. from the NIPCO Filling Station off the Line Expressway to Gado Nasco Way.
According to the source, the officer noticed the surveillance and executed a “strategic maneuver,” successfully evading the suspected assailants.
The source added that the matter is under investigation and is receiving “the seriousness it deserves,” noting that further details are being withheld so as not to compromise the process.
Recalled that a few days ago, Lt. Yarima, while on duty with other security personnel, engaged in a tense confrontation with FCT Minister Nyesom Wike over a disputed land site in Gaduwa District. The clash, captured on video, sparked widespread public debate and prompted intervention from the Presidency, which subsequently halted the demolition exercise at the site.
Defence Minister, Mohammad Badaru Abubakar has assured that no military personnel acting lawfully will be sanctioned over the altercation.
Badaru said during a ministerial briefing for the 2026 Armed Forces Remembrance Day celebrations at the National Defence College, that: “We will always protect officers and our armed forces personnel on lawful duty,”
“Any officer on lawful duty will be protected if he is doing his job lawfully and doing it well.”
Following the incident, military veterans nationwide criticised Wike for verbally insulting the officer and rejected calls for disciplinary action against Yarima.
Spokesman for the Coalition of Retired Veterans, Abiodun Durowaiye-Herberts, warned that ex-service members would “occupy the office and residence of the FCT Minister” if the officer faced any punishment.
He stressed that military personnel owe allegiance to Nigeria—not individual public officials—and insisted that Wike must apologise for his remarks.
“How can a public office holder call an officer ‘a fool’ on camera?” he queried, adding that such conduct undermines national institutions and demeans the dignity of public office.
Veteran journalist and recipient of A.B.C Yola, Reporter of the Year Award (1997), Hassan Umar Shallpella, works with WAP as a Regional Correspondence. He was trained at Institute of Mass Communication and Technology Jos and Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, Training School Lagos.He was a News desk Editor and a Correspondent at the Punch newspaper and till 2019, was the Deputy Editor ofThe Scope newspaper.
Latest posts by Hassan Umar Shallpella (Regional Correspondent) (see all)
- Lt. Yerima Escapes Assassination Attempt In Abuja - November 17, 2025
- PDP Convention: Turaki Emerges As National Chairman - November 16, 2025
- PDP Expels FCT Minister Nyesom Wike , Others For Anti-Party Activities - November 16, 2025
previous
PDP Convention: Turaki Emerges As National Chairman
next