The Atiku Media Office condemned a televised remark by Nyesom Wike directed at journalist Seun Okinbaloye, describing it as a threat and calling for a public apology and stronger protection for press freedom in Nigeria.
- Wike allegedly threatens journalist during live TV broadcast
- Atiku Media Office condemns remark as reckless and dangerous
- Calls for apology, government response, and journalist protection
- Incident raises concerns over press freedom in Nigeria
It happened on live television. In front of cameras. In front of an audience. And without any apparent awareness that what was being said crossed a line that public officials in a democracy are not supposed to cross.
Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, told journalist and broadcaster Seun Okinbaloye that he would have shot him over a professional opinion. The remark was made on air. It was heard. It was recorded. And it has now triggered a response that goes well beyond the immediate discomfort of the moment.
The Atiku Media Office released a statement on April 4, 2026, condemning the minister’s words in terms that were measured but unmistakably firm. The office described Wike’s remark as reckless, deeply troubling, and anything but the casual banter that some might be tempted to write it off as.
“For a serving minister of the Federal Republic to publicly make such a statement is not just irresponsible; it is a chilling indication of how far this government has drifted into intolerance, lawlessness, and abuse of power,” the statement read.
The office made a point of removing any ambiguity about how the remark should be classified. “It was not a joke or banter. It was a threat, clear, direct, and deeply disturbing.”
That distinction matters. In Nigerian public discourse, violent rhetoric from powerful figures is often absorbed and excused as a figure of speech, a moment of passion, something not to be taken literally. The Atiku camp rejected that framing entirely and chose instead to name the remark for what it was, a threat issued by a senior government official against a journalist doing his job.
The statement went further, placing the incident within a pattern it argues has been building across this administration. It described an environment where criticism is increasingly met with hostility, where opposing voices face intimidation, and where dissent is treated less as a legitimate democratic function and more as something to be suppressed.
“Minister Wike’s outburst is not an isolated incident but part of a worrying trend where criticism is treated as a crime and opposing voices are targeted,” the statement said.
The office then posed a question that stripped the issue down to its most human dimension. If a journalist with national visibility, a familiar face on television with the institutional backing of a major broadcast organisation, can be threatened this openly on national television, what does that mean for an ordinary Nigerian who speaks up about the wrong thing in the wrong place?
It is the kind of question that does not need a complicated answer. The answer is in the asking.
The Atiku Media Office laid out three specific demands. A full and unconditional public apology from Minister Wike to Seun Okinbaloye and to the broader media community. A clear repudiation of the statement by the Federal Government. And concrete assurances that journalists across Nigeria will be protected in the exercise of their professional duties.
The statement made clear what it believes the consequences of silence will be. Inaction, it warned, would not simply allow the incident to pass. It would confirm the fears already forming in many quarters about where the country’s democratic culture is heading.
“Nigeria must not slide into a culture where intimidation replaces dialogue,” the statement concluded. “The press must remain free, and truth must not be silenced by threats, regardless of the source.”
The Gazette News (Nigeria) notes that the right to report, to question, and to broadcast professional opinions without fear of physical threat is not a privilege extended to journalists at the discretion of powerful officials. It is a constitutional guarantee. When a minister of the Federal Republic suggests, on live television, that he would have shot a journalist, the response cannot be a shrug. It must be, at the very minimum, a clear and public statement from the government that such language has no place in how its officials engage with the press.
That statement has not yet come.
This report was produced by the editorial team at The Gazette News | Independent. Human-Centred. Impactful in line with our commitment to accuracy, fairness, and responsible journalism. Information in this article is based on verified sources available at the time of publication. The Gazette News | Independent. Human-Centred. Impactful may update the story as new facts emerge or additional context becomes available.
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