Abuja witnessed heated protests as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, came under fire for allegedly revoking a land allocated since 1984 to the late Colonel Paul Ogbebor, a distinguished Nigerian Army officer and the first Nigerian Defense Academy (NDA) cadet with Code 001. The protesters, led by social media influencer VeryDarkMan, accused Wike of abusing his powers and reallocating the land to a personal associate.
Colonel Ogbebor, a Civil War veteran who bore bullet wounds from his years of service, passed away in 2020. His family and supporters argue that the land, located in Abuja’s Life Camp area, has been legally owned and documented since 1984. However, Wike reportedly declared the property vacant and reassigned it to a company linked to his associates, including Kingsley Chinda, the Minority Leader in the House of Representatives.
Protesters gathered at the Life Camp roundabout, where bulldozers had allegedly been deployed under Wike’s orders to demolish the property. They expressed outrage, calling on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to intervene and halt what they described as an “act of tyranny.”
“This is an insult to Nigeria’s armed forces and a disgrace to the legacy of Colonel Paul Ogbebor,” one protester lamented. “A man who sacrificed so much for Nigeria deserves respect, not this injustice.”
VeryDarkMan, a vocal critic, accused Wike of being “power drunk” and using his position to suppress ordinary Nigerians and reward personal allies. He warned that such actions could set a dangerous precedent for military officers and other landowners.
