A Military Officer Should Only Obey Lawful Orders — Wike’s Aide Lere Olayinka

Lere Olayinka, media aide to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has criticized the military over the reported deployment of soldiers to guard a private construction site linked to a former service chief.

Speaking on Sunrise Daily, a Channels Television programme, Olayinka questioned the logic behind obeying questionable directives within the military, emphasizing that not all orders should be followed blindly.

“I saw the military officer yesterday telling us he was acting on order. I have also read online that a military man should obey the last order, and I asked myself — which order?” Olayinka said. “Like the minister also asked yesterday — you obey orders, yes, but that order has to be lawful and reasonable.”

He further illustrated his point with a sharp analogy,
“For instance, if I am a military officer and my superior gives me an order to go and sh++t somebody or to go and r+pe my daughter, will I obey the order because it’s coming from my superior?”

Olayinka expressed concern that soldiers, who were originally assigned as personal security aides to former Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo (rtd), were instead deployed to guard a building under construction.

“Because it is an order, military men should go and mount guard in a public building under construction. That is the issue here,” he stated. “Military men that were posted to the former Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo, as his personal security details to protect him, to guard him — he now chose to make himself vulnerable and send those people on an errand. I don’t seem to get it.”

The remarks come amid growing debate over the boundaries of military obedience and the use of armed personnel for private or non-official assignments.

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