FCT Minister Wike’s ‘Shoot Seun’ Remark Outrageous, Irresponsible — Oshoma

Senior lawyer and social critic, Liborous Oshoma, has condemned a remark by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, during a recent TV appearance, describing them as “outrageous” and a “clear display of irresponsibility.”

Oshoma was reacting to Wike’s controversial statement during a media chat in Abuja, where the minister said he felt so frustrated by a comment made by Channels Television journalist, Seun Okinbaloye, that he wished he could “shoot him through the TV screen.”

“I watched with fear and trepidation yesterday the Minister for the FCT, Nyesom Wike, furious and angry that Seun had an opinion on a matter between the ADC, INEC, and the Gambo case,” Oshoma said.

According to him, Okinbaloye’s comment during a TV programme he anchors was within the bounds of professional journalism.

“And what was Seun’s offence? I was in that interview. Seun was actually interviewing me, and he said that ADC ought to have seen this coming, and that they saw this coming, that he had won, and are not taking steps to actually nip this in the bud, was akin to gifting APC a one-party state. So what’s the offence there?” he queried.

Oshoma argued that expressing such sentiments on a public platform, particularly by a high-ranking government official, could incite dangerous consequences.

“You don’t make such a statement on an international platform because you have followers. All they just need to hear is that, ‘if I have my way,’ they will do it on your behalf. I think such statements are reckless,” he said.

He further called on President Bola Tinubu to caution the minister.

“The President should call his minister to order. The minister also needs to eat the humble pie… and apologise publicly to Seun, because if anything happens to him, it is in the minister’s hands. That statement is reckless,” Oshoma added.

The controversy stemmed from Thursday’s edition of ‘Politics Today’, a Channels Television current affairs programme, which focused on the leadership crisis within the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the role of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

During the programme, Okinbaloye expressed concern over Nigeria drifting toward a one-party state if opposition parties fail to resolve internal crises ahead of the 2027 general election.

“I’m particularly very pained because what makes the race interesting is when it’s competitive, not when only one party stands in the middle of the ballot. If the ADC, one of the only hopes of the opposition, cannot contest in 2027, we are doomed democratically,” Okinbaloye had said.

Reacting th next day, Wike accused the journalist of abandoning neutrality as a journalist.

“I was surprised yesterday, thoroughly surprised. When I was watching Politics Today, Seun, if there was any way to break the screen, I would have shot him. How can you, as an interviewer, say we cannot have only one party? You are now telling your own views,” Wike said.

Wike, however, clarified that the comment was an expression of frustration and not a literal threat.