Screenshot from the fisticuff between Yerima and Wike. Image source: TheCable.
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In the past few days, the Nigerian media space has been buzzing with reports of a clash between the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and a naval officer, Ahmad Yerima.
Videos circulating online showed Wike and the naval officer engaged in a heated verbal confrontation after Yerima denied the minister and his entourage access to a disputed piece of land.
The video sparked conversations among netizens with conflicting opinions on who was right and which party was at fault.
Amid this, DUBAWA observed some accounts on X and Instagram disguising themselves as Lt Yerima.
This X account, for instance, wrote, “I’m an officer with integrity and tolerance. The Naval resilience and self-discipline should be appreciated.”
Many followers in the comment section of the post believed the post as they hailed his resilience in the face of pressure mounted on him by the FCT minister.
DUBAWA further observed that other accounts were impersonating Lt Yerima. One of such is this X account, @LTYerimaa, who joined X in January 2024. This user did not indicate whether the account was a parody account or not.
Additionally, these Instagram accounts, @AM Yerima, created in June 2025, and @amyerima1, created in September 2025, are impersonating the officer. In the bio of the former, it was indicated that the account is operated by an officer of the Nigerian Navy, and it was also strictly warned that this is his only account.
Because this could put unsuspecting members of the public at risk, DUBAWA reviewed these accounts.
DUBAWA found that this X account (@AM__Yerima), which was created in 2017, recently changed its username from 9ija_pr to @AM__Yerima.
As of Nov. 14, 2025, the user has over 40,000 followers and has verified the account. However, DUBAWA traced the account’s response to a tweet in May 2025 and observed that the account username at the time was @9ija_pr.
Previous posts by the account reflected activities such as Cryptocurrency trading, along with other jokes and memes that the account shares.
However, as of late Nov 13, 2025. The user edited the bio to reflect that it is a parody account and restricted the number of people who could see the post.
This was after the account had raked up numbers using the sudden fame of the young naval officer, Yerima.
Similarly, this account, @LTYerimaa, which joined X in January 2024, recently changed its name from @stayawayfromyk to one bearing the identity of a military officer.
The account’s activities showed that it had been interested in increasing engagement and followers on the platform, and this is an opportunity to achieve that goal.
What is X and Instagram’s policy about Parody accounts?
In April 2025, X introduced a stricter policy around parody accounts. Accounts that impersonate another user or person are required to use keywords such as “fake” or “parody” at the start of their account names. It also requires that the impersonators use a different image from the X account belonging to the real users.
In the bio of this Instagram account, AM Yerima, it is indicated that a Nigerian Navy officer operates the account and also strictly warns that this is his only account.
However, upon closer examination of the account, it was created in June 2025 and contained only recent pictures of the officer. It had one previous username, which reflects that it had changed to its current username.
This account, @amyerima1, created in September 2025, has a previous username and has also recently changed to reflect the name of Lt Yerima.
Instagram also has a policy against impersonation under its privacy, security, and reporting guidelines. Users are encouraged to report accounts that impersonate other people on the platform.
Meanwhile, a part of the social media guidelines drafted by the defence headquarters stated that personnel should not post their pictures in military uniform or pictures containing military structures, platforms, and other military items.
Conclusion
Social media posts and accounts about Lt. Yerima have garnered widespread support among Nigerians for the naval officer who had a verbal altercation with Minister Wike. However, it is essential to note that not every social media account claiming to be an officer is genuine.
