The Nigerian Army has filed a Preliminary Objection challenging the competence and jurisdiction of a lawsuit filed by Professor John Ntui Ntuiabane at the Federal High Court, Abuja. The suit, numbered FHC/ABJ/CS/2635/2025, has attracted significant attention due to its connection to the high-profile property dispute in Apo involving Lt. Ahmed Yerima, the Naval officer who had a public confrontation with FCT Minister, Barrister Nyesom Wike, earlier this year.

Professor Ntuiabane instituted the suit for himself and on behalf of what he described as “less privileged citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.” The constitutional action seeks interpretation of various sections of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), including Sections 42(1)(a), (b), (2), (3), and 44(3), as well as Article 86(1), (2), and 87 of the Additional Protocol (1) of the Geneva Convention, 1977.

The suit names eight defendants: the Minister of Defence (Mohammed Badaru), Minister of State for Defense (Bello Matawale), Chief of Defence Staff, Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Zubairu Gambo, Lt. Ahmed Yerima, and the Attorney General of the Federation.

According to court documents sighted by our reporters, the suit seeks to preserve the rights of a retired deceased Major, Simeon Garh, who was originally allocated the disputed property in Apo which is now occupied by the retired Naval Chief.

Human rights lawyer Victor Giwa, alongside Ogbu Aboje, Alex Samuel, Muh’d Bashir Abdulazeez, and Ibitade Olugbenga of Victor Giwa & Associates, filed the preliminary objection on behalf of the Nigerian Army (4th Defendant). The application was brought pursuant to Order 29 Rule 1 and Order 29 Rule 4(b) of the Federal High Court Civil Procedure Rules 2019.

In the objection, the Army’s legal team raised several grounds challenging the suit’s competence:

  1. The Plaintiff lacks locus standi having failed to demonstrate any personal interest, legal right, or injury arising from the acts complained of.
  2. No authority to institute the suit in a representative capacity on behalf of “less privileged citizens” without obtaining leave of court or disclosing identities of those represented.
  3. The Originating Summons is undated, rendering the process incompetent.
  4. No reasonable cause of action disclosed against the Nigerian Army.
  5. The suit is grossly incompetent having been filed via Originating Summons despite being highly contentious.
  6. The claims are speculative, hypothetical, academic, and not justiciable.
  7. Necessary parties, particularly publishers of the newspaper publications referenced in the suit, have not been joined.

In the accompanying Written Address, Giwa argued that Professor Ntuiabane is merely a “busybody or meddlesome interloper” who has failed to establish sufficient interest in the subject matter. He cited several Supreme Court authorities including INEC vs. Ogbadibo Local Government (2015), Adesanya v. President of Nigeria (1981), and A.G. Federation v. Abubakar (2007).

“The Plaintiff is not the owner of the disputed land; the alleged allottee is Major Simeon Garh, who is now deceased. The Plaintiff claims to have been briefed by the daughter of the deceased allottee, and has not shown that he was personally affected by any act of the Defendants,” the legal team submitted.

The Army further argued that the Originating Summons procedure is inappropriate for this matter, citing National Bank of Nigeria v. Alakija (1978) and Famfa Oil Ltd v. A.G. Federation (2003), which established that contentious matters involving disputed facts require a Writ of Summons.

The Nigerian Army is seeking:

  • An Order striking out and/or dismissing the suit for being incompetent and for want of jurisdiction.
  • An Order dismissing the suit for being an abuse of court process.

The lawsuit is connected to the controversial property dispute in Apo, Abuja, which gained national attention following the public confrontation between Lt. Ahmed Yerima and FCT Minister Nyesom Wike earlier this year. The dispute centers on property originally allocated to Major Simeon Garh (now deceased), currently occupied by retired Vice Admiral Zubairu Gambo.

Professor Ntuiabane is represented by Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Otaru Roland Itoyah, of Solace Law Chambers, Abuja.

The matter is pending before the Federal High Court, Abuja, and a date for hearing the preliminary objection is expected to be fixed.

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