The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has refuted media reports alleging that naval officer Lt. Ahmed Yerima was the target of an assassination attempt in Abuja.
Yerima, who was recently involved in a widely publicised confrontation with FCT Minister Nyesom Wike over a disputed land parcel in Abuja, was reported on Sunday to have been trailed by unidentified men dressed in black and riding in two unmarked Hilux vans.
According to the reports, the alleged pursuit began around 6:30 p.m. near the NIPCO filling station along the Kubwa Expressway and continued through Gado-NASCO Way, with Yerima said to have escaped through a “strategic manoeuvre” during a high-speed chase.
However, the police have dismissed the claims as entirely baseless.
In a statement, FCT Police spokesperson Josephine Adeh described the reports as false, unverified, and capable of inciting public fear.
“The attention of the FCT Police Command has been drawn to publications circulating on social media alleging an attempted assassination on Lt. Ahmed Yerima. The command wishes to categorically state that no such incident has been reported or recorded anywhere within the Federal Capital Territory,” she said. “The public is advised to disregard this false information and desist from spreading unverified claims capable of causing unnecessary panic.”
Further checks by TheCable showed that Yerima, who was driving a vehicle with tinted windows, was stopped earlier by police operatives along Kubwa for routine identification before being allowed to proceed.
The controversy comes less than a week after Yerima led a team of soldiers involved in a heated face-off with Wike on November 11 — an incident that has since gone viral, inspiring skits and sparking nationwide debate about civil-military relations in the FCT.
