Former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Yusuf Buratai (rtd), has condemned the conduct of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Barr. Nyesom Wike.
He described his recent altercation with a uniformed naval officer as a “clear threat to national security and institutional integrity.”
In a statement released on Tuesday, November 11, 2025, Buratai said Wike’s public disparagement of a serving officer of the Nigerian Armed Forces “transcends mere misconduct” and “strikes at the core of the nation’s command and control structure.”
The statement comes in response to the altercation between Minister Wike and a naval officer in Abuja.
According to the retired general, “A minister’s verbal assault on a military officer in uniform is an act of profound indiscipline that deliberately undermines the chain of command, disrespects the authority of the Commander-in-Chief, and grievously wounds the morale of every individual who serves under the Nigerian flag.”
He warned that such actions could erode the foundation of discipline upon which the country’s national security architecture rests, emphasizing that the incident “cannot be dismissed as political theatre” but rather “a reckless endangerment of national order.”
Buratai further demanded that the FCT Minister tender “an immediate and unequivocal public apology” to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, as well as to the Nigerian military and the officer involved.
“Our nation’s security must come first. It is time for decisive action, not the politics of military bashing. The integrity of our Armed Forces demands nothing less.” Buratai said.
