A Nigerian Navy officer, Lieutenant A.M. Yarima, who recently clashed with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, reportedly escaped an assassination attempt on Sunday evening in Abuja.

Military sources told newsmen that unidentified men dressed in black, riding in two unmarked Hilux vans without number plates, trailed the officer from the NIPCO Filling Station off the Line Expressway to Gado Nasco Way.

The sources said Lt. Yarima detected the surveillance and executed a “strategic manoeuvre,” successfully evading the suspected assailants at about 6:30 p.m.

According to one source, the incident is currently under investigation and is being handled with “the seriousness it deserves,” while additional details are being withheld so as not to jeopardize the probe.

The development comes days after Lt. Yarima, while on joint security duty, was involved in a tense confrontation with FCT Minister Nyesom Wike over a disputed land site in the Gaduwa District. The altercation, captured on video, sparked widespread public reactions and prompted the Presidency to suspend the demolition exercise at the location.

The confrontation also drew strong condemnation from military veterans nationwide, who criticised Wike for verbally insulting the officer and opposed any move to discipline Yarima.

Abiodun Durowaiye-Herberts, spokesman for the Coalition of Retired Veterans, said ex-service members would “occupy the office and residence of the FCT Minister” if the officer suffered any sanction. He stressed that military personnel owe allegiance to the Nigerian state, not individual public officials, and insisted that Wike must apologise for his remarks.

“How can a public office holder call an officer ‘a fool’ on camera?” he asked, describing the minister’s conduct as demeaning to national institutions.

Meanwhile, Minister of Defence, Mohammad Badaru Abubakar, has assured that no military personnel acting within the law will be punished over the altercation.

“We will always protect officers and our armed forces personnel on lawful duty,” Badaru said during a ministerial briefing ahead of the 2026 Armed Forces Remembrance Day. “Any officer on lawful duty will be protected if he is doing his job lawfully and doing it well.”

Veterans had earlier vowed to mobilise and occupy the FCT Ministry should Lt. Yarima face any form of disciplinary action.