The Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Lere Olayinka, has dismissed concerns over the minister’s controversial comment during a Channels Television media chat, insisting it was purely hyperbole.
Amnesty International had earlier criticised the Minister, Nyesom Wike, over what it described as a reckless and violent comment allegedly made against a journalist during a live television interview.
The rights group, in a post on its official X account on Saturday, stated that Wike’s statement was dangerous and could encourage attacks on journalists.
According to Amnesty, Wike reportedly said, “If there’s any way to broke (sic) the screen, I would have shot him…” — a remark the organisation said raises serious concerns about safety and press freedom in Nigeria.
Amnesty International described the comment as reckless and violent language.
The group warned that such statements from a senior government official could normalise violence against media practitioners.
It added that the remark carries the danger of normalising violence and encouraging the targeting of journalists merely for doing their job.
The organisation further stated that the comment violated Nigeria’s broadcasting rules, which are designed to guide conduct on air, and said the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission should enforce such standards.
According to Amnesty, the statement was unlawful and unacceptable, particularly coming from a member of the federal cabinet.
The group called on Wike to withdraw the statement and apologise, insisting that public officials must exercise caution with their words.
But in a statement issued on Saturday, Olayinka clarified that Wike “never meant that he will shoot Seun Okinbaloye,” noting that the duo even spoke by phone on Saturday, with the journalist fully understanding the intent. He emphasised that Wike holds Okinbaloye in high esteem but was frustrated seeing him “descending into the political arena by speaking as an interested party instead of an interviewer.
“The statement made by the Minister was in a hyperbolic context, which was clearly without intent. It was primarily using exaggeration to make a point,” Olayinka explained.
He recalled that during the live programme — also featuring Chamberlain Uzor, Head of Channels TV’s Abuja Office — Wike explicitly clarified he did not mean to “carry gun and shoot the television anchor”, prompting laughter from all interviewers. Olayinka warned that twisting the remark out of context now amounts to a “clear hatchet job” by those pushing blackmail and propaganda for political gain.
“The public is therefore urged to discontenance the use of the comment as an instrument of blackmail and propaganda by those whose intent is to misrepresent facts for their political gains,” the statement concluded.
Credit: The Sun