Femi Falana, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), stated that Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), was acting within his legal rights when inspecting a land dispute in Abuja.

On Tuesday, viral videos captured Wike being prevented by military personnel from accessing the site, leading to a heated confrontation with an officer.

In the footage, Wike was seen intervening to de-escalate the situation, separating his security team from the soldiers amid rising tensions.

During the encounter, the minister demanded to see the documentation approving the landowners' rights. A soldier, leading the group, told Wike that his men posed no threat and that the landowner possessed all necessary permits.

At an event at the University of Abuja on Thursday, Falana criticised the minister’s public insult of the military officer, asserting that no public official has the right to publicly ridicule any Nigerian.

"On no ground should a Minister force himself and abuse the military officer. No Minister has the power to call any Nigerian a fool. Mr President should compel the Minister to apologise. He was lucky he was not shot.

"The military officer contravened the law by preventing the Minister from doing his legal duty. The officer engaged in illegal duty to guide the land of a private person. So when he said he was acting on superior orders, those orders are illegal. But the Minister went off track. Even the President can't call any Nigerian a fool", Falana said.