The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has revealed how he narrowly escaped what he described as a fabricated $2 million blackmail plot involving his son and a purported land allocation in Abuja.

Speaking during a media parley on Thursday, Wike said an individual falsely alleged that he paid $2 million to one of his sons in exchange for securing a land allocation in the Federal Capital Territory.

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According to the minister, the alleged blackmailer claimed that his son had called him to ask if land was available before the payment was made.

“As I’m sitting as the minister of FCT, somebody has done that, claiming that he knows my children, and that there was a day that he was with my son, and that my son called dad, ‘Is any land available?’, and I said yes. And that they gave him two million U.S. dollars. So look at the game,” Wike said.

Wike disclosed that the alleged scheme came to his attention after someone at the Presidential Villa alerted him to documents containing the claims that were being circulated.

“Somebody called me from the Villa that he has this thing going on. I said, ‘What is that?’ He said, ‘Oh, you get this document for me.’ Somebody’s trying to do it. I said, ‘Okay, no problem.’ I sent my CSO: ‘Go and get this person.’ We got him arrested. He said that two million was given at night, that’s 9 p.m., 8 p.m., two million dollars,” he said.

The FCT minister explained that investigators quickly dismantled the allegation after establishing that his son had travelled out of Nigeria on a British Airways flight on the morning of the day the alleged payment was said to have taken place.

“But see how, unknown to him, that day in the morning, my son travelled on British Airways. Meanwhile, the money was given at night. So we had to tell the police. They went to British Airways, everything,” he added.

Wike also revealed that he was later advised by some individuals to quietly resolve the matter to avoid public embarrassment, but he rejected the suggestion.

“One of them came to me and said, ‘Look, before it embarrasses you, why not settle it?’ I said, ‘Settle what? Settle what? This is cheap blackmail. I will not allow that.’ And we didn’t do it,” he said.

The minister said the incident highlights how senior government officials are often targeted with fabricated allegations aimed at damaging their reputations or forcing them into concessions.

Drawing a comparison with allegations recently made by Adewale Adeyemi against the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, Wike argued that genuine allegations should be presented to security agencies rather than aired through the media.

“There are people you target in government to do bad thing to the boss. This is chief of staff. This is the person who is in charge of finance and secretary to government. If you want to embarrass any government, this is the first target,” he said.

Questioning Adeyemi’s approach, Wike added: “If it was indeed correct, eyeball to eyeball, go to the security agency. Look at my communications with him. Look at the phone I’ve been talking with him. These are what we have done.”

The controversy involving Adeyemi began on June 25, when he accused Gbajabiamila of demanding 48 per cent of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council’s (PFIPC) alleged ₦27.4 billion take-off grant and receiving ₦400 million through proxies linked to appointments within the agency.

The Presidency has maintained that the PFIPC is fictitious, although reports indicate the council secured office space at the Federal Secretariat, opened Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) accounts and received a ₦1.3 billion allocation in the 2026 Appropriation Act.

President Bola Tinubu has directed the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate the matter within 30 days.

Meanwhile, Adeyemi is standing trial before the Federal High Court in Abuja on forgery charges, including allegedly forging an appointment letter bearing Gbajabiamila’s signature.

He is expected back in court on July 27, while Gbajabiamila’s legal team has threatened him with a ₦10 billion defamation suit, describing the allegations as “false and gravely defamatory.”

Although the Presidency has expressed confidence in Gbajabiamila, civil society organisations, including the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR), as well as human rights lawyer Femi Falana, have called for an independent investigation into the allegations involving both men.

Shell has won awards at the 25th edition of the Nigeria Oil and Gas (NOG) Energy Week Conference and Exhibition in Abuja in recognition of pioneering contributions to the energy industry in the country.

It won the Equality in Energy award while a Shell company, Daystar Power was honoured with the Sustainability in Energy award.

The honours which were part of the recognitions announced at the NOG Energy Awards Wednesday night recognize Shell for leading the way in equality, diversity and inclusion while Daystar Power was commended for initiatives towards decarbonisation.

The awards highlight the contributions of Shell businesses to the development of Nigeria, pioneering oil and gas production in the country with a presence dating back more than 60 years ago.

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A determined effort to promote equality, diversity and inclusion in its businesses has resulted in the appointment of women to key posts, including last month’s naming of former Managing Director of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCo) Elohor Aiboni as Executive Vice President and Country Chair Nigeria. She is the first Nigerian to hold the combined roles and assumes duty on the first of next month.

For its part, Daystar Power has continued to provide “solar and hybrid energy solutions for businesses in Nigeria, Ghana, Togo, Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire.”

Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Bayo Ojulari congratulated the awardees and commended the collaboration and teamwork that contributed to a successful conference.

Shell is a key sponsor of the Nigeria Oil and Gas conference and mounted an exhibition in addition to hosting a well-attended dinner on Tuesday night. In remarks read on his behalf by General Manager Wells and Geoscience Operations Nigeria, Joseph Mordi, Executive Vice President Nigeria and Country Chair Marno de Jong said: “We will continue to play our role in developing the industry and help to promote economic growth in Nigeria through the efficient delivery of our businesses in deepwater oil and gas production, integrated gas, renewables and power solutions.”

Zambia’s Vice President, Mutale Nalumango, escaped unhurt on Thursday after the helicopter carrying her and seven other people crashed shortly after takeoff while on a campaign tour ahead of the country’s August 13 general election.

Nalumango, 71, said the helicopter went down moments after departing from a campaign rally in the northeastern town of Nakonde.

Speaking to Diamond TV online, she recalled the incident, saying, “After we lifted off, I don’t know whether it was a minute or two… and then we came down.”

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Despite the crash, the vice president said everyone on board survived without injuries.

“We were eight, and all of us are fine,” she said, adding that it was not immediately clear what caused the crash, although the helicopter was badly damaged.

Zambia is set to hold presidential and parliamentary elections on August 13, with President Hakainde Hichilema expected to seek a second term as head of one of Africa’s top copper-producing nations.

Following the incident, the Zambian government said Nalumango underwent a routine medical check-up and was discharged in good health.

Pictures shared on social media showed the white Air Force helicopter lying on its side after it apparently crashed into a tree.
Authorities have yet to establish the cause of the crash.