The African Democratic Congress (ADC) and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar have condemned comments by the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, in which he threatened to shoot Channels Television’s Politics Today anchor, Seun Okinbaloye.

The condemnation of the minister’s comments follows earlier criticism from Amnesty International and 14 civil society organizations and institutions, including the International Press Institute.

During Thursday’s live political show, Okinbaloye had expressed concern that the country was trending toward a one-party state — a remark that drew a sharp reaction from Wike.

His comments were made amid controversy over the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) derecognition of the ADC leadership.

“I am particularly pained because when one party stands in the middle of a ballot, we are looking for the rest of the political parties. When some of us talk, it looks like our mouths are smelling. And we have been on this ground for a while,” Okinbaloye said.

“There are a lot of experienced men in the ADC who should have seen the devil in some of the issues that have been raised in the past months. Particularly, it looks like one of the hopes of the opposition going into 2027. If this hope is dashed, we are doomed democratically.”

On Friday, during a live media chat, Wike stated that he “would have shot” Okinbaloye, accusing the journalist of taking sides in the ADC leadership dispute on national television.

“I was thoroughly surprised yesterday when I was watching Seun’s Politics Today. If there was any way to break the screen, I would have shot him. How can an interviewer say we cannot allow a one-party state?” the minister said.

“You are now telling them your own view, as an interviewer, that you can’t allow a one-party state. I was just taken aback. I am not saying I will kill him. I am just angered that he made that kind of statement on national television. This is not the kind of journalism I have seen people do.”

Reacting to Wike’s statement, ADC National Publicity Secretary Bolaji Abdullahi described the threat against Okinbaloye as irresponsible and unacceptable.

“Wike threatening to shoot Seun Okinbaloye from Channels Television for doing his job as a journalist is irresponsible and unacceptable. This must be condemned by all lovers of freedom of speech.

“After destroying opposition parties, they now want to start shooting journalists. Wike’s violent rhetoric exposes the Tinubu administration’s descent into authoritarianism,” Abdullahi said.

The media office of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, also a chieftain of the ADC, similarly condemned Wike’s threat, calling it reckless and dangerous.

“The Atiku Media Office condemns, in the most forceful and unequivocal terms, the disgraceful threat issued by FCT Minister Nyesom Wike against frontline journalist Seun Okinbaloye. For a serving minister to publicly declare on live television that he wished to shoot a journalist over a professional opinion is not just reckless — it is a chilling signal of how far this government has descended into intolerance, lawlessness, and abuse of power,” the statement read.

“This was not a joke or banter. It was a clear and direct threat. When those entrusted with authority begin to speak the language of violence against the press, democracy itself is under attack. Minister Wike’s outburst is not an isolated slip; it reflects a broader pattern under the administration of Bola Tinubu, where dissent is criminalised, criticism is met with hostility, and intimidation has become the default language of governance.

“What crime did Mr. Okinbaloye commit? He warned against the creeping danger of a one-party state. For this, a minister responded not with reason, but with a threat of violence. Nothing captures the current state of governance more starkly. Democracies die not only through stolen mandates or weakened institutions but through the normalization of threats, fear, and silencing of independent voices.

“If a prominent journalist can be threatened so brazenly on national television, what protection exists for the ordinary Nigerian? This reckless conduct is unacceptable and must not be allowed to stand.”

Atiku demanded that Wike issue an immediate and unconditional public apology to Okinbaloye and the entire Nigerian media community. He also called for a clear repudiation of the minister’s rhetoric by the Tinubu administration, along with concrete assurances for the safety and protection of journalists across the country.

He warned that anything short of this “will confirm what many Nigerians already fear — that this government is not merely intolerant of dissent, but increasingly comfortable with the language and instruments of repression.”

“Nigeria will not be bullied into silence. The press will not be cowed, and truth will not be silenced by threats, no matter how powerful or highly placed those behind them,” Atiku added.

(Channels TV)

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