Daniel Otera
Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike’s spokesman has disclosed that a retired Chief of Naval Staff fell victim to a brazen land fraud scheme in Abuja, but rather than pursue proper channels for redress, the senior military officer allegedly deployed armed personnel to forcefully claim the disputed property.
Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant on Publicity and Communications to the FCT Minister, made this revelation during an appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme on Wednesday, shedding light on Tuesday’s confrontation between Wike and naval officers guarding property linked to Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo (retd).
According to Olayinka, the controversial plot at the centre of the dispute was never meant for private development in the first place.
“That particular land was allocated to a company in 2007, Santos Estate Limited, for park and recreation. The company did not do anything on the land because that place is a parkway, it’s a walkway, it’s a road corridor. You don’t build there,” Olayinka stated.
The aide explained that Santos Estate Limited attempted to convert the land from its designated recreational purpose to commercial use in 2022, but the FCT Administration rejected the application.
“In 2022, the minister of FCT declined that request. Wike was not the minister then,” he noted, emphasizing that the current minister inherited the situation rather than creating it.
Despite the official rejection, Olayinka alleged that the company illegally subdivided the park land and sold portions to unsuspecting buyers, including the former naval chief.
“Probably in anticipation of the minister’s approval for conversion, the man decided to partition the land, a land allocated to him for park and recreation. He now partitioned the land and sold it to people, including the former Chief of Naval Staff,” the spokesman explained.
Olayinka argued that Gambo should have directed his grievances toward Santos Estate Limited rather than attempting to use military might against the government.
“That is why I want to say that the Chief of Naval Staff was scammed. He has realised that he was scammed. Instead of him to now come out and seek help, he resorted to use military might,” he said.
“After selling land allocated to you for park and recreation, for people to build a house, who should the Chief of Naval Staff go and hold? The person who’s claiming or the government? He chose not to hold the person who’s scammed, the company who’s scammed.”
The presidential aide further revealed that the disputed land in Mabushi has been earmarked for government and corporate structures, making residential development impossible even if proper documentation existed.
“That particular portion has now been designated for the purpose of, you know, if you know Abuja very well, you know how Mabushi is. That is where you have Ministry of Works environment. That portion of the land, that pathway is for public buildings and corporate buildings, not residential, meaning that you cannot build residential house there,” Olayinka clarified.
He challenged the retired naval officer to produce valid documentation for the property.
“As of today, Vice Admiral Gambo does not have a document, a title document, showing that he owns the land. He does not own the land,” Olayinka declared.
Even if legitimate ownership could be established, the spokesman insisted that proper procedures were not followed before construction commenced.
“Assuming we’re not conceding that he has title documents and he owns the land, before you begin development of a land, there are processes you must pass through. One of such processes is to have a building plan, building plan showing what you want to put on the land. And you take your building plan to the development control,” he said.
“The question Nigerians should ask Vice Admiral Gambo is, did he take his building plan on that land to development control? And did development control approve the building plan?”
Tuesday’s confrontation, which was captured on video and circulated widely on social media, showed Wike challenging naval personnel who were guarding the disputed property. The incident has triggered intense public discussion about land management practices in the nation’s capital, the appropriate boundaries between civilian authority and military involvement in civil matters, and concerns about possible abuse of power.