 urges FCT Minister Nyesom Wike to retract violent remarks against Channels TV anchor Seun Okinbaloye, threatening to boycott his media engagements if he fails to apologize.){kind=link}
The Independent Broadcast Association of Nigeria (IBAN) has called on Nyesom Wike to retract a threatening remark he made against Seun Okinbaloye, warning that failure to do so could lead to a boycott of his media engagements.
The call was made in a statement signed by Ahmed Ramalan, IBAN chairman, and Fidelis Duker, acting general secretary.
Wike had earlier declared that he would have “broken his TV screen and shot” Okinbaloye following comments that a one-party system would threaten democracy in Nigeria. Amnesty International condemned the minister’s words as “reckless and violent language.”
In their statement, IBAN urged Wike to reaffirm his commitment to press freedom under Sections 22 and 39 of the 1999 Constitution.
“Should the minister fail to meet these requests within a reasonable period, IBAN will have no choice but to advise all independent broadcast stations to suspend coverage of all press briefings, media chats, and official news conferences hosted by the FCT minister,” the statement read.
The controversy has ignited widespread debate on the limits of political discourse and the protection of journalists in Nigeria.