FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, has ordered a sweeping ban on the use of mobile phones by staff of the Abuja Geographic Information Systems (AGIS) and the Department of Land Administration, following his viral Tuesday altercation with a naval officer.
Beginning on Wednesday, November 12, 2025, all officials on Salary Grade Level 14 and below are prohibited from accessing office premises with their cell phones, according to a contentious internal letter obtained by SaharaReporters.
The memo, issued by AGIS Management, reads in part: “There shall be a ban on the use of mobile phones within the office premises for all officers on Salary Grade Level (SGL) 14 and below… affected staff are not permitted to enter the premises with their mobile phones henceforth.”
The directive was issued by the Head of AGIS, Chijioke Nwankwoeze.
According to AGIS sources who spoke to newsmen, the order was issued just 24 hours after footage of Wike’s furious altercation with a Naval officer at a contested property site in Abuja went viral on WhatsApp groups that AGIS employees allegedly shared.
“The minister was furious that the videos circulated among staff. He saw it as an act of sabotage. This phone ban is his way of showing anger,” said one source who asked not to be named.
This new directive has sparked outrage among workers and civil rights advocates, who condemned it as primitive, draconian, and anti-labour. Critics say it reflects the FCT minister’s worsening intolerance for criticism and his penchant for authoritarian control.
As of press time, the FCT Administration was yet to issue any official statement concerning the controversial directive.
In response to this development, The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) condemned the actions of the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, over the viral video showing him verbally abusing a military officer while on official duty.
NANS further slammed the FCT Minister for what it called a disrespectful and conceited behaviour, emphasising that the minister made a mistake by trying to forcibly intrude on the property of a former Chief of Naval Staff who, in the group’s opinion, had served the country honourably.
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