“Please don’t take what I said about shooting Okinbaloye, literally”-FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has denied issuing any threat to Channels TV anchor, Seun Okinbaloye, insisting that his controversial remark was merely figurative and not intended to be taken literally.

Speaking in Abuja on Tuesday while receiving the management and staff of Daar Communications, Wike said his earlier comment had been misinterpreted and taken out of context.

“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.

The controversy stems from comments made during a media parley on Friday, April 3, where Wike reacted to Okinbaloye’s analysis on Politics Today.

In the course of his response, the minister had said, “If there was any way to break the screen, I would have shot him,” a statement that drew widespread backlash.

Addressing the issue, Wike maintained that the comment was intended to convey frustration and not a physical threat.

Meanwhile, Okinbaloye, in a subsequent broadcast, insisted on his refusal to succumb to intimidation, asserting that such rhetoric is inappropriate in a democratic setting.

“I am not afraid, and I will never be intimidated,” he said during the broadcast on Sunday.

The incident has attracted criticism from the media and civil society groups.

The Nigeria Union of Journalists and Amnesty International described the statement as reckless, calling for a public apology.

At the same time, the Independent Broadcasters Association of Nigeria warned it could boycott the minister’s media engagements if no apology is issued. (Channels)