By Crystal Ugoeze
Former Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and one-time Aviation Minister, Osita Chidoka, has faulted the conduct of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, in the recent confrontation with a young soldier at a disputed Abuja site, saying the minister acted outside the bounds of democratic governance and should tender an apology.
In a strongly worded statement titled “Wike vs Young Soldier: Power, Process, and the Rule of Law,” Chidoka said Wike’s decision to personally intervene and verbally confront a uniformed officer was a “fundamental misstep” that undermined the authority of the Nigerian state.
According to him, every law enforcement officer in uniform represents the sovereignty of the Republic, and publicly abusing such an officer diminishes the dignity of government itself.
Chidoka argued that in constitutional democracies, executive power is exercised through institutions and lawful processes, not through personal presence or roadside enforcement. He maintained that if the soldiers at the site were acting outside their mandate, the appropriate action for the minister was to formally notify the Minister of Defence, whose office is responsible for the Armed Forces, rather than entering into confrontation.
He warned that trading words with a soldier acting under orders corrodes discipline and confuses hierarchy, because the officer is duty-bound to obey the chain of command, not verbal instructions issued during a public altercation.
“The Minister should apologise to the officer for using abusive language. It is not acceptable behaviour,” Chidoka stated.
He also criticised the conduct of the Department of State Services (DSS) personnel attached to Wike, noting that their role was to de-escalate and remove their principal from a volatile situation, not to heighten tension. Security aides, he stressed, must remember that their loyalty is to the state—not to individuals.
Chidoka described the incident as a “cautionary tale” that demeans the dignity of public office and weakens the image of disciplined governance, urging public officials to respect institutional procedures and the rule of law.
The episode, he said, highlights the broader lesson that ministers act through process, not confrontation, and that state authority is most powerful when exercised through lawful channels rather than personal force.