The controversy stems from an incident on Tuesday, 11 November, when Mr Wike was reportedly prevented from accessing a construction site in Abuja's Gaduwa District by naval officers.
A former Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, has condemned the actions of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, following his confrontation with a naval officer in Abuja.
Mr Buratai described the incident as a threat to national security and a breach of institutional discipline.
In a statement posted on his official Facebook page, he said the minister's verbal altercation with a uniformed officer during an inspection of an alleged illegal construction site in the Gaduwa District "transcends mere misconduct and represents a palpable threat to national security and institutional integrity."
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He stated that such public disparagement erodes respect for the chain of command and weakens morale among serving personnel.
"A minister's verbal assault on a military officer in uniform is an act of profound indiscipline that strikes at the core of our nation's command and control structure," Mr Buratai said.
He added that it deliberately undermines the authority of the Commander-in-Chief and grievously wounds the morale of every individual who serves under the Nigerian flag.
Call for public apology
The former army chief urged Mr Wike to tender an immediate and unequivocal public apology to President Bola Tinubu as the Commander-in-Chief, the entire Armed Forces of Nigeria, and the specific officer whose honour was violated.
"Our nation's security must come first. It is time for decisive action, not politics of military bashing. The integrity of our Armed Forces demands nothing less," he said.
He warned that the matter should not be dismissed as political theatre, saying it represents reckless endangerment of national order.
Background
The controversy stems from an incident on Tuesday, 11 November, when Mr Wike was reportedly prevented from accessing a construction site in Abuja's Gaduwa District by naval officers.
The officers claimed they were acting on the instructions of a former Chief of Naval Staff who was allegedly undertaking construction on the land without proper approval or title documents.
Mr Wike, who has led several demolition and enforcement exercises publicly confronted the officers, vowing to halt all illegal developments in the territory no matter who is involved.
In September, over 30 early-stage structures were demolished at River Park Estate after the FCTA found they were erected on lots with expired leases and without proper approvals.
The FCT Minister later told journalists that he had engaged the Chief of Defence Staff and the Chief of Naval Staff to resolve the matter.
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