Lieutenant Yarima has escaped assassination attempt in Abuja.
NewsOnline Nigeria reports that a Nigerian Navy officer, Lt. A.M. Yarima who was recently involved in a high-profile confrontation with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike has reportedly survived an assassination attempt on Sunday evening.
According to military sources quoted by Vanguard, the officer was trailed by unidentified men dressed in black and traveling in two unmarked Hilux vans without number plates.
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The suspects allegedly followed him from the NIPCO Filling Station along the Line Expressway to Gado Nasco Way in Abuja.
The source said Lt. Yarima quickly detected the suspicious vehicles and carried out a “strategic maneuver,” successfully losing the suspected attackers. The incident occurred around 6:30 p.m.
Military authorities have reportedly launched an investigation, describing the matter as sensitive and stating that specific details are being withheld to avoid jeopardizing the probe.
This development comes just days after Lt. Yarima clashed with FCT Minister Nyesom Wike during a dispute over a land site in Gaduwa District. The altercation, captured on video, went viral and drew intense public reactions, prompting intervention from the Presidency, which halted the planned demolition on the site.
The confrontation also triggered widespread backlash against Wike from military veterans nationwide, many of whom condemned his verbal attack on the officer and warned against any disciplinary action.
Abiodun Durowaiye-Herberts, spokesman for the Coalition of Retired Veterans, said former service members were ready to “occupy the office and residence of the FCT Minister” if Lt. Yarima was punished. He insisted that Wike must apologise for calling the officer “a fool” during the confrontation.
Veterans stressed that uniformed officers owe allegiance to Nigeria not to individual political figures and warned against any attempt to intimidate or penalise security personnel performing lawful duties.
Meanwhile, Minister of Defence, Mohammad Badaru Abubakar, has reassured the public that no military personnel will be sanctioned for carrying out lawful duties.
“We will always protect officers and armed forces personnel who act within the law,” Badaru stated during a briefing ahead of the 2026 Armed Forces Remembrance Day.
He emphasised that any officer performing official duties responsibly will receive full protection from the ministry.
