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Veteran journalists, publishers and media executives under the umbrella of Port Harcourt Press have issued a blistering warning to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Chief Nyesom Wike, accusing desperate political actors of testing the waters for intimidation, press suppression and the overheating of Rivers State ahead of the 2027 elections.

At an international press conference convened to condemn the brutal attack on an Arise TV crew in Port Harcourt on Friday, January 2, 2026, the media leaders described the incident as a direct assault on press freedom and a dangerous signal of what could come if unchecked political desperation is allowed to fester.

The Arise TV journalists were reportedly attacked by armed men inside a hotel while conducting an interview with former Commissioner for Employment Generation and Empowerment, Dr. Leloonu Nwibubasa. Broadcast equipment was forcefully seized in what the media body described as a crude act of intimidation against journalism and society at large.

But it was the alleged political undertone of the attack that triggered the sharpest rebuke. According to the press body, Dr. Nwibubasa disclosed that the assailants boasted openly that any statement against their “leader,” Chief Nyesom Wike, would be resisted and those involved “dealt with.”

To the Port Harcourt Press, that claim—if true—represents a throwback to “ancient, barbaric politics” that has no place in a democratic society.

“An attack on journalists on legitimate duty is an attack on the entire society,” the group warned, adding that when the press is threatened, all other liberties are placed under siege.

The body also raised serious concerns over the conduct of the Police, noting that although the seized equipment was reportedly recovered, no concrete arrests have been made days after the incident—even when a suspect was allegedly named. The silence of the police authorities, they said, fuels suspicion of compromise and complicity.

They demanded a full investigation and prosecution of all those involved within two weeks, warning that failure would attract sanctions, including a media blackout of police activities in Rivers State in solidarity with the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).

However, the strongest words were reserved for Chief Wike himself.

The media veterans “boldly called out” the former Rivers governor, urging him to tread with caution and abandon what they described as a growing desperation for relevance. They reminded him that he governed the state for eight years with the support of Rivers people and must now come to terms with the transient nature of power.

“He should move on and become a statesman,” the statement declared. “No one is more Rivers than the others.”

The group expressed deep concern over what they described as the Minister’s inflammatory rhetoric and combative manner whenever he visits Rivers State, warning that the polity becomes dangerously overheated in his wake. They questioned his political direction, noting that he currently holds no declared elective ambition and has been expelled from the PDP, yet continues to act in ways capable of igniting tension.

As a serving minister under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the media executives said Wike bears a higher responsibility to preach peace, tolerance and restraint—not incitement—if Nigeria is to achieve credible, non-violent elections in 2027.

“His statements are dangerously inciting,” they warned, adding that leadership demands knowing when to stop, lest followers are led to a calamitous end.

Invoking the words of former U.S. President John F. Kennedy, the group cautioned that dictatorship often begins with the suppression of the free press, declaring unequivocally that Rivers State will not tolerate the birth of political tyranny under any guise.

In clear terms, the Port Harcourt Press drew a red line: Rivers is not a playground for intimidation, journalists will not be silenced, and any attempt—by whomsoever—to bully the media or overheat the polity will be fiercely resisted in the court of public accountability.

Full text of the press statement reads:

WORLD PRESS CONFERENCE TO CONDEMN THE UNPROVOKED ATTACK ON ARISE TV CREW ON FRIDAY, JANUARY 2, 2026, IN PORT HARCOURT, RIVERS STATE, NIGERIA AND OVERHEATING OF THE POLITY BY DESPERATE POLITICIANS.

Gentlemen of the Press

1 We welcome you to this all-important International Press Conference by this body of veterans, publishers, and media managers in our dear Rivers State, otherwise known as Port Harcourt Press.

2 This event became necessary drawing from the fact that society collapses quite fast when evil is allowed to thrive while good people keep silent.

3 It is also important to note that when the journalism profession is threatened, the society of course will come under siege. The unfortunate incident of Friday, January 2, 2026, is a litmus test on what desperate politicians want to re-enact in our State and create an insecure environment.

4 In the views of Christopher Dodd, “when the public’s right to know is threatened, and when the rights of free speech and free press are at risk, all of the other liberties we hold dear are endangered.”

5 That harrowing event of Friday, January 2, where the Arise TV crew were brutally attacked by armed men in a hotel in Port Harcourt while conducting an interview with Dr. Leloonu Nwibubasa, former Honourable Commissioner for Employment Generation and Empowerment, smacks of nothing but an act of intimidation, threat to both the Nigerian media and human lives, especially in the forceful carting away of broadcast equipment. An attack on journalists on their legitimate duty is a direct assault on the larger society.

6 This body has watched with utter consternation the trend of things, vis-à-vis further allegations by the interviewee, Dr. Leloonu Nwibubasa, that the invaders were bold and blunt enough in boasting that any statement against their leader, Chief Nyesom Wike, will be challenged and resisted, and those involved will be dealt with. Such a barbaric style of politics is quite ancient, and this body condemns in its totality the resort to brigandage and barbarian approach in seeking for power or relevance in whatever form.

7 From available information, the Police appear to be playing to the gallery. While the broadcast equipment was reportedly recovered, no definite arrests have been made. Even more troubling is the fact that Dr. Nwibubasa reportedly mentioned the name of a particular perpetrator, yet no immediate action was taken. The silence of the Police Authority since Friday, January 2, raises serious concerns. We are therefore constrained to believe that the Police may be compromised and, by implication, complicit in this heinous act against the journalism profession in Rivers State.

8 This body therefore demands an urgent and thorough investigation of this matter, and those found culpable brought to justice within two weeks. Failure to address this issue with the urgency it requires and not carrying out satisfactory actions as required in their prosecution will attract sanctions such as withdrawal of coverage of all Police activities in Rivers State by media organizations and journalists, as we stand in solidarity with the NUJ. We call on the Inspector General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun, and the Rivers State Commissioner of Police, CP Olugbenga Adepoju Adewole, to justifiably acquit themselves of complicity in this matter by showing commitment to a logical investigation, arrest, and prosecution of all those involved and those that armed the thugs that invaded the hotel to disrupt the Arise interview.

9 From indications, this uncivilized and crude act was perpetrated to test-run a clandestine plan to instil fear into journalists and stifle the press before the coming elections. We make this bold statement realizing that as veterans and publishers we have always been the targets of bad politics by desperate politicians. We warn that politicians who cannot play by the rules should quit the political space in Rivers State and stop this shenanigan of heating up the polity even when electioneering campaigns are yet to be declared by INEC.

10 We boldly call out the former Governor and current Minister of FCT, Chief Nyesom Wike, to tread with caution in his desperation for relevance. He has had his fair share as the Governor of Rivers State for eight years, and Rivers people stood behind him. He should kindly come to terms with the fact that power is transient, and since his tenure is over, he should move on and become a statesman. We are all Rivers people, and no ONE is more Rivers than the others. The earlier he comprehends this, the better for everyone.

11 Regrettably too, the Minister of FCT, Chief E. N. Wike, who the Rivers public expects to display some level of decorum and restraint in his choice of words and mannerisms when making public statements, is not living up to that expectation. As media executives who closely monitor the tempo of our immediate Rivers State mass society, the polity is usually overheated each time he visits the various Local Government Areas to address his supporters based on his dictum and mannerisms. We are not aware of any public office he intends contesting. We are not even aware of the political party that he is claiming membership of, especially now that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has announced his expulsion from their fold. As a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria under the fatherly leadership of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, we look on him to spread the gospel of peace and tolerance, which we expect will dovetail to a transparent, non-violent, free, fair, and credible elections come the year 2027.

12 His statements are dangerously inciting people unnecessarily, and that is not an attribute of a leader. He should know when to call it quits; otherwise, he will be leading his followers to a calamitous end. As the late American President, John F. Kennedy, once warned, “Dictators get started by suppressing free press.” We therefore collectively and resolutely say NO to the birth of dictatorship in our dear State, regardless of who is involved.

Thank you and God bless.