{"id":198400,"date":"2026-04-04T22:39:44","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T21:39:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/wike-must-apologize-for-threatening-journalist"},"modified":"2026-04-04T23:56:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T22:56:11","slug":"wike-must-apologize-for-threatening-journalist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/wike-must-apologize-for-threatening-journalist","title":{"rendered":"Wike Must Apologize for Threatening Journalist"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Nigeria. <\/strong><\/span>The Atiku Media Office has asked the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, to tender a public apology over his \u201cthreat\u201d against Channels Television presenter, Seun Okinbaloye.<\/p>\n

The ex-Vice President\u2019s media team spoke in a statement issued on Saturday in Abuja.<\/p>\n

It said Wike\u2019s action reflects a growing intolerance for dissent under President Bola Tinubu\u2019s administration.<\/p>\n

The statement described the minister\u2019s comment as reckless and unacceptable, stressing that such rhetoric from a serving government official poses a threat to press freedom and democratic values.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor a serving minister of the Federal Republic to publicly declare on live television that he wished to shoot a journalist over a professional opinion is not just reckless.<\/p>\n

\u201cit is a chilling signal of how far this government has descended into intolerance, lawlessness, and naked abuse of power,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n

It added that the comment should not be dismissed as a joke or banter, insisting that it amounted to a direct and disturbing threat against a journalist performing his professional duties.<\/p>\n

The media team noted that when public officials begin to use violent language against members of the media, it sends a dangerous signal about the state of democracy in the country.<\/p>\n

The statement added that the incident reflects a broader pattern under the Tinubu administration where criticism is met with hostility and intimidation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat crime did Mr. Okinbaloye commit? He dared to warn against the creeping danger of a one-party state. For this, a minister of the republic responded not with reason, but with a threat of violence,\u201d be statement said.<\/p>\n

The Atiku media office further warned that normalizing threats against journalists could undermine democratic institutions and embolden attacks on press freedom.<\/p>\n

It therefore called for an immediate and unconditional public apology from Wike to Okinbaloye and the Nigerian media community.<\/p>\n

The office also urged the Tinubu administration to publicly repudiate the minister\u2019s remarks and provide assurances for the safety and protection of journalists across the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnything short of this will confirm what many Nigerians already fear\u2014that this government is increasingly comfortable with the language and instruments of repression,\u201d the statement added.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Nigeria<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Nigeria. The Atiku Media Office has asked the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, to tender a public apology over his \u201cthreat\u201d against Channels Television presenter, Seun Okinbaloye. The ex-Vice President\u2019s media team spoke in a statement issued on Saturday in Abuja. It said Wike\u2019s action reflects a growing intolerance […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":198398,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,16],"tags":[254],"class_list":["post-198400","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-parties","tag-nigeria"],"yoast_head":"\nWike Must Apologize for Threatening Journalist - Nigeria<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Atiku Media Office has asked the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, to tender a public ap ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/wike-must-apologize-for-threatening-journalist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Wike Must Apologize for Threatening Journalist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Atiku Media Office has asked the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, to tender a public ap ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/wike-must-apologize-for-threatening-journalist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Nigeria\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-04T21:39:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-04T22:56:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2026\/04\/sm_1775343303.94158.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"675\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/wike-must-apologize-for-threatening-journalist#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/wike-must-apologize-for-threatening-journalist\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Wike Must Apologize for Threatening Journalist\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-04T21:39:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-04T22:56:11+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/wike-must-apologize-for-threatening-journalist\"},\"wordCount\":377,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/wike-must-apologize-for-threatening-journalist#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2026\/04\/sm_1775343303.94158.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Nigeria\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Parties\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/wike-must-apologize-for-threatening-journalist#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/wike-must-apologize-for-threatening-journalist\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/wike-must-apologize-for-threatening-journalist\",\"name\":\"Wike Must Apologize for Threatening Journalist - 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