Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has swiftly debunked viral social media reports alleging he rewarded a naval lieutenant with a brand-new Toyota SUV for confronting Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike over a disputed Abuja land plot, labeling the story “entirely fabricated” and urging the public to disregard it.
The denial, issued Thursday by Atiku’s media adviser Paul Ibe, comes amid escalating fallout from Tuesday’s heated standoff at Plot 1946 in Gaduwa District, where Lt. Ahmed M. Yerima—deployed to secure the site allegedly owned by retired Chief of Naval Staff Vice Adm. Awwal Gambo—barred Wike and his enforcement team from accessing the area. The clash, captured in widely shared videos, saw Wike accuse the military personnel of intimidation and land-grabbing, vowing not to yield to “blackmail.” 0 1
The baseless rumor, which surfaced on Facebook Wednesday, claimed Atiku—Nigeria’s main opposition figure and 2023 PDP presidential candidate—gifted the vehicle to Lt. Yerima as a token of appreciation for “standing up” to Wike, a political rival from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) faction. Ibe’s statement was unequivocal: “His Excellency Atiku Abubakar, Vice President of Nigeria (1999–2007), did not gift Lt. Ahmed Yerima—or any other individual—a brand-new Toyota SUV, contrary to the false reports currently circulating on social media. The story is entirely fabricated and should be completely disregarded by the public.” 0 1 2
Atiku’s swift rebuttal highlights the rapid spread of disinformation in Nigeria’s polarized political arena, where the Abuja land row has already drawn in heavyweights. Wike’s aide, Lere Olayinka, framed the dispute as fallout from a fraudulent 2007 allocation to Santos Estate Limited for non-residential use, which was illegally subdivided and sold to Gambo in 2022—allegedly without valid titles or development approvals. 3 Olayinka accused the retired admiral of leveraging “military might” instead of legal recourse against the scammers, while constitutional expert Prof. Sebastine Hon condemned Yerima’s actions as a “breach of law,” citing Supreme Court precedents against obeying unlawful orders. 4
Defence Minister Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, addressing the incident during Wednesday’s press briefing, vowed protection for “any officer on lawful duty” and confirmed an ongoing probe, signaling the military’s intent to shield Yerima pending investigation. 5 Separately, Minister of State for Defence Bello Matawalle described the confrontation as “unnecessary and avoidable,” insisting the young officer “did not commit any offence.” 9
The SUV rumor, though swiftly quashed, amplifies perceptions of elite meddling in the saga, which pits Wike’s aggressive FCT reforms against perceived military overreach. Atiku, who has clashed publicly with Wike since the PDP’s 2023 primaries, has remained largely silent on the core dispute but used the denial to reinforce his detachment from the fray.
As the FCT Administration pushes for demolition over missing titles, and with Gambo’s camp yet to respond, the episode underscores broader tensions in Abuja’s land governance—where high-profile claims often blur lines between politics, security, and speculation. Fact-checkers and social media watchdogs have since flagged the SUV post as misinformation, but its virality serves as a cautionary tale in an election cycle already rife with digital warfare.
