CLOSE-UP: Awwal Gambo, ex-naval chief at the centre of Abuja land dispute with Wike

On Tuesday, Nyesom Wike, minister of the federal capital territory (FCT), was embroiled in a heated argument with military personnel at the site of a disputed plot of land in the nation’s capital city.

The site is said to be located at plot 1946, Buffer Transit Southern Park Way, Gaduwa District of Abuja.

The FCT minister was seen in viral videos challenging a naval officer identified as AM Yerima as tempers flared.

The videos of the heated face-off elicited varied reactions on and off social media on military-civilian relations in a fledgling democracy.

The FCT minister had visited the site after officials of the department of development control in the FCT were chased away from the area by armed soldiers allegedly acting on the instructions of a retired senior officer.

Speaking with journalists after the incident, the FCT minister said the owner of the disputed site, who is a retired military officer, could not provide the approved land documents when he asked.

“I don’t understand how somebody who attained that position cannot approach my office to say, ‘Look, this is what is going on’. But simply because he’s a military man, he thinks he can use that to intimidate Nigerians. I am not one of those who will succumb to blackmail or intimidation,” Wike said

“The director of development control said, ‘Bring the documents.’ They don’t have them. ‘Bring approval for building’; they don’t have it. How can we continue to allow lawlessness to prevail? What about those who don’t have the military behind them? What about ordinary Nigerians?”

TheCable understands that the officer who laid claims to the disputed site is Awwal Zubairu Gambo, a former chief of naval staff. He was said to have acquired the land in 2020.

Who is Gambo, the retired vice admiral at the centre of the dispute that is currently dominating the news cycle?

GAMBO, THE UNDERWATER WARFARE SPECIALIST

Gambo was born on April 22, 1966, in the Nasarawa LGA of Kano state. He attended Gwagwarwa Special Primary School, Kano, where he obtained his first primary school leaving certificate.

He proceeded to Rumfa College, Kano, where he got his O-level certificate in 1984.

He enlisted in the Nigerian Defence Academy as a member of 36 regular course on September 24, 1984, and was commissioned sub-lieutenant on October 24, 1989.

With specialisation in intelligence, Gambo is an underwater warfare specialist. He has attended several sub-technical courses and officer courses, including junior division 48/99 and senior course 26, both at Armed Forces Command Staff College in Jaji.

He also took the national defence course at the South African National Defence College. With a postgraduate diploma in transport management and a master’s degree in transport management, both from Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Gambo is a member of the Nigerian Institute of Management, a fellow of the Certified Institute of Shipping, a fellow of the Institute of Corporate Administration of Nigeria, and a fellow of the National Defence College, South Africa.

In January 2021, former President Muhammadu Buhari appointed Gambo as the chief of naval staff.

Before his appointment to the top position in the navy, he had served as director of search and rescue at the defence headquarters and chief of naval training command.

He had also served as the security coordinator, presidential relief committee for north-east geopolitical zone; and director of simulation, naval doctrine, and assessment centre, Bonny Camp, Lagos.

While serving as the naval chief, he was reported to be vocal against the menace of crude oil theft in the country.

In August 2022, Gambo said the Nigerian navy lost numerous court cases on arrested vessels due to non-diligent prosecution.

In June 2023, President Bola Tinubu replaced him with Emmanuel Ogala as naval chief. In October, Tinubu replaced the service chiefs and Idi Abbas became the new naval chief.