The Federal Government has pledged to protect military personnel on lawful duties.

The Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru, made the promise following Tuesday’s heated altercation between the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, and a naval officer, Lt. Yerim Yerima, over alleged landgrabbing in the Gaduwa District of Abuja, allegedly involving ex-Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo.

Fielding questions from reporters at a press conference to commence activities for the 2026 Armed Forces Remembrance Day at the National Defence College, Abuja yesterday, Badaru said the government is probing the incident.

The former Jigawa State governor said: “Well, at the ministry, and indeed he armed forces, we will always protect our officers on lawful duty. “We are looking into this issue, and we assure you that any officer on lawful duty will be highly protected.

We will not allow anything to happen to him so long as he is doing his job, and he is doing his job very well.” Meanwhile, the minister announced the government’s plans to reclaim ungoverned spaces across the country as part of the measures to tackle the deteriorating security in the country.

According to him, the government aims to deploy veterans to restore calm and promote economic development in previously insurgent-occupied areas. Badaru said the veterans would be engaged under “Reclaiming the Ungoverned Space for Economic Benefits Programme (RUSEB-P)”, explaining that the programme is designed to leverage the expertise of retired and agile military veterans.

The minister said: “By engaging veterans to rein- force local security and initiate projects like farming and mining, RUSEB-P will prevent the resurgence of terrorism, revitalise local economies, and strengthen national security and cohesion.”