A Nigerian Navy officer, Lieutenant A.M. Yarima, who recently made headlines after a heated confrontation with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has reportedly survived an assassination attempt in Abuja.
Military sources told Vanguard that the officer was trailed by unidentified men dressed in black, riding in two unmarked Hilux vans without number plates, on Sunday evening.
According to the source, the suspicious vehicles followed Yarima from the NIPCO Filling Station off the Line Expressway to Gado Nasco Way at about 6:30 p.m. The officer reportedly detected the surveillance and executed what the source described as a “strategic maneuver” that enabled him to evade the suspected assailants.
The military source added that the incident is under active investigation and is being treated with “the seriousness it deserves,” noting that additional information is being withheld to safeguard the process.
The reported assassination attempt comes days after Lt. Yarima was involved in a widely publicised confrontation with FCT Minister Wike during a disputed land enforcement operation in the Gaduwa District.
The tense encounter, captured on video and circulated online, sparked nationwide debate and prompted intervention from the Presidency, which temporarily halted the demolition exercise at the centre of the dispute.
In the footage, Wike and Yarima exchanged words, with the minister visibly irked by the officer’s stance during the operation. The altercation triggered strong reactions across the country.
Following the clash, military veterans condemned Wike for verbally attacking the officer and rejected calls for Yarima’s punishment.
Spokesman of the Coalition of Retired Veterans, Abiodun Durowaiye-Herberts, warned that ex-service members were ready to “occupy the office and residence of the FCT Minister” if Yarima faced sanctions.
“How can a public office holder call an officer ‘a fool’ on camera?” he asked, arguing that such conduct undermines national institutions and demeans the office Wike holds.
The veterans stressed that the military’s loyalty is to the Nigerian state—not to individual public officials—and insisted that the FCT Minister must apologise.
Minister of Defence, Mohammad Badaru Abubakar, has since moved to calm tensions, assuring that no military personnel acting within the law will be victimised over the incident.
“We will always protect officers and our armed forces personnel on lawful duty,” he said during a ministerial briefing ahead of the 2026 Armed Forces Remembrance Day activities.
“Any officer on lawful duty will be protected if he is doing his job lawfully and doing it well.”
The assurance follows repeated warnings from veterans who vowed to mobilise nationwide if Lt. Yarima faced disciplinary action.