Amid the overwhelming pressure on him to apologise for threatening to shoot a journalist, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has explained that he did not threaten to kill Seun Okinbaloye, a presenter with Channels Television, during a recent media chat.
Speaking in Abuja on Tuesday while receiving officials of Daar Communications, Wike said his earlier comment had been misinterpreted and taken out of context.
He described the statement as a figure of speech borne out of frustration, insisting it was not meant to be taken literally.
Top Society reports that the controversy followed a recent interview on Channels Television, where Okinbaloye cautioned that a one-party system could undermine Nigeria’s democracy.
Wike during his routine media chat on Friday expressed irritation over Okinbaloye’s take on the trajectory of the nation’s democracy while watching “Politics Today”, a Channels Television programme. “If there was any way to break the screen, I would have shot him,” Wike had said.
He had immediately clarified to the journalists present that his brief monologue did not literally translate to pulling the trigger on Okinbaloye. The comments have since being widely condemned by scores of civil society groups including Amnesty International and the Nigerian Union of Journalists.
On Monday, umbrella body representing independent broadcast stations across the country, the Independent Broadcast Association of Nigeria (IBAN) charged Wike to issue a clear retraction of the statement, tendering a public apology to Okinbaloye and the wider media community, and reaffirming his commitment to non-violence and respect for press freedom as guaranteed under Sections 22 and 39 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
The association stated that if the minister fails to comply within a reasonable time, it may advise all independent broadcast stations nationwide to suspend coverage of his press briefings, media chats and official news conferences.
Addressing the matter on Tuesday, the FCT minister maintained that his comment was intended to convey frustration and not a physical threat. He reiterated that he never meant to kill the journalist with his comment.
“You can imagine what happened in our press conference. And people just, you see, people just capitalise on things. Even when I explained there that, ‘look, it’s not correct. I didn’t say I would kill him. All I was trying to explain is that figuratively.
“I was so angry. How can you descend so low? You are an interviewer. How do you now begin to say something that…you are no longer interviewing your guests… You are now saying this is what is going on? It’s not fair.
“If I can break this…how can you break? I mean, how can? And people will capitalise on everything. Those who have defeated several, then they will come under you and say, look, do this, do this, do this,” he said.
Wike insisted that his comment about breaking the television set was not a threat. He alleged that political opponents were amplifying the issue against him.
“I mean, people will capitalise on everything; those who I have defeated severally,” he said.
He also referenced former Vice President Atiku Abubakar in his remarks, saying: “What do you expect someone like Atiku, who said I made him to fail election; he cannot be happy with me naturally.”
The minister called on journalists to maintain professional standards and avoid publishing stories they cannot defend.
He maintained that “the media should not be used; stand firm. If you believe what you are saying is correct, stand firm. If you know that it is not conscience, you don’t need to bring such stories out, because you don’t know the danger or the damage you have caused.”
