A former Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor, has strongly faulted the Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, over his recent verbal exchange with a Naval Officer, A.M. Yerima, during a demolition enforcement exercise.
Wike had accused a former Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Zubairu Gambo (retd.), of land grabbing and had directed the Department of Development Control to demolish the property. However, armed military officers, led by Yerima, prevented the demolition.
General Irabor, speaking during the 21st All Nigeria Editors Conference (ANEC), openly faulted the FCT minister’s behavior.
According to the former CDS, the minister committed an offence against the state, adding that he had no right to make such disparaging remarks. He added that such a public display would only embolden other Nigerians to disrespect military officers.
“Just a few days ago, we saw an incident between the Honourable Minister of the FCT and a military officer. And there have been a number of representations that I have read in the media, which I thought that some of us got it right, others did not,” he said.
“They missed the point. And I am including the representation of a SAN which I think he missed the point. Now, what is it? The uniform is not about who is wearing it.”
“The uniform represents the authority of the state. Whether it is a small boy or not, it is the authority of the state. It is even worse when it is a commissioned officer who has a presidential commission,” Irabor stressed.
He argued that when one makes such disparaging comments, they have “desecrated the oath.”
“What you have told the Commander-in-Chief and the authority that invested that position in him is that they are fools. So, it is wrong. And I think that for the media… In any case, law has two ends… But again, in military law, we also taught that for you to be able to establish a crime, there are two elements: Actus reus and mens rea. Actus reus, meaning that was this thing done? And then the mens rea, what is the intention behind it?”
He continued: “So, when a SAN says that the minister has authority over land and it is not the duty of the soldier, that is not the issue. Now, if you have any reason to believe that what the young man is doing is a channel, that is the law. So, you desecrating the oath, it has not left the realm of what the officer was doing. It is an offence against the state.”
The General argued that citizens have lost the educational capacity to know how to properly treat military officers in uniform. He tasked the media to highlight the values of good citizenship and patriotism.
“So, this is what you, the media, must try to highlight. I know that over the years, we have lost our educational traction. See, these are things that primary school pupils, secondary school pupils ought to know,” he concluded
