Former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai (rtd), has condemned the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, over a recent confrontation with military personnel at a disputed land site in Abuja.
Videos circulating on social media on Tuesday showed Wike in a heated exchange with uniformed officers during an inspection of the land in question.
In a statement released on Wednesday, Buratai described the altercation as a direct “threat to national security,” warning that it requires “immediate and serious response” from relevant authorities.
“His public disparagement of a uniformed officer of the Nigerian Armed Forces transcends mere misconduct; it represents a palpable threat to national security and institutional integrity,” Buratai said.
He added that “a minister’s verbal assault on a military officer in uniform is an act of profound indiscipline that strikes at the core of our nation’s command and control structure.”
Buratai further explained that such behaviour “deliberately undermines the chain of command, disrespects the authority of the Commander-in-Chief, and grievously wounds the morale of every individual who serves under the Nigerian flag.”
He warned that “such actions erode the very foundation of discipline upon which our national security apparatus stands,” stressing that it should not be treated as “political theatre.”
“This is a reckless endangerment of national order. This action by Wike is clearly an indication of undermining the federal government’s authority,” he said.
The former army chief called on Wike to publicly apologise to President Bola Tinubu, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, and to the military officer involved in the incident.
“Our nation’s security must come first. It is time for decisive action, not politics of military bashing. The integrity of our Armed Forces demands nothing less,” Buratai added.
