A Senior Advocate of Nigeria and constitutional law expert, Professor Sebastine Hon, has faulted the conduct of Naval Officer, A.M. Yerima, during his confrontation with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, describing the officer’s actions as a “breach of the law.”
Hon made his position known in a Facebook post on Wednesday, condemning Yerima’s decision to block Wike’s access to a disputed parcel of land in Abuja, insisting that the act could not be justified under any lawful military order.
“Brushing sentiments aside, I hereby condemn in totality the actions of the Naval Officer, A.M. Yerima, who obstructed the FCT Minister from gaining access into that parcel of land, under the guise of ‘obeying superior orders,’” Hon wrote.
He explained that while obedience to superior orders is a key military principle, it is not absolute and must operate within constitutional boundaries.
“The duty of a junior officer to obey the orders of his superiors, even though strongly upheld in military and paramilitary circles, has its own limitations recognised by no other authority but the Supreme Court of Nigeria,” he added.
Citing relevant authorities, Hon referenced Onunze v. State (2023) 8 NWLR (Pt. 1885) 61 and Nigeria Air Force v. James (2002) 18 NWLR (Pt. 798) 295, noting that the apex court had ruled that military officers are not bound to obey illegal or manifestly unjust orders.
According to the SAN, the order directing the naval officer to guard a private construction site was inherently unlawful.
“The illegality in that order stems primarily from the fact that no service law of the military permits a serving military officer to mount guard at the private construction site of his boss, especially under suspicious circumstances like this,” he stated.
He further advised that if genuine security concerns existed, “the retired Naval Officer ought, under the circumstances, to have engaged the civil police.”
‘Wike Acted Within His Powers’ – Hon
Prof. Hon also clarified that the FCT Minister, under the law, exercises presidential powers over land administration in Abuja in line with Sections 297(2) and 302 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
He stated, “By Section 302 of the same Constitution, read together with other extant Acts of the National Assembly, the President of Nigeria has delegated all powers with respect to land administration in the FCT Abuja to the minister.
“Going by constitutional and administrative law, therefore, Mr Wike stood in loco of the President of Nigeria and Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces on that fateful day. Consequently, even if the superior officer were still in service, he would not disobey Mr Wike or obstruct him from entering the land. This was an affront to the civil authority of Mr President.”
While acknowledging that Wike’s tone during the altercation might have been “brash,” the legal scholar maintained that the minister acted within his legal rights, whereas the naval officer’s conduct violated the law.
“Rather, it is the officer who obstructed him that has breached not just the Nigerian Constitution, but also service and extant regulatory laws,” Hon said.
Quoting Section 114 of the Armed Forces Act, he noted that military personnel are “criminally liable for civil offences,” adding that Yerima could be arraigned before a Court Martial for obstructing a public officer from performing his duties.
Hon cautioned against glorifying the officer’s behaviour, warning that condoning such defiance could embolden security personnel to undermine civil authority.
“If such intolerable conduct by the young officer is not punished or is celebrated, this may unleash a reign of terror by the men in khaki against hapless civilians — with a grin or boast that ‘we did it to Wike and nothing happened,’” he warned.
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