Tonye Patrick Cole, the former governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers state, has formally demanded N20 billion in compensation from Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). This significant demand stems from alleged defamatory statements made by Wike during a television interview.

Through his lawyer, Jibrin Okutepa, Cole dispatched a letter dated October 8, 2025, accusing Wike of making “very damaging, malicious and unfounded defamatory statements” against him. These statements were reportedly uttered during a live broadcast of Channels Television’s Politics Today programme, which aired on September 18, 2025.

According to the legal correspondence, Wike allegedly described Cole as a thief, accused him of stealing state resources, and claimed that he sold Rivers State gas for an amount totaling $308 million. Okutepa underscored that these remarks, having been broadcast both nationally and internationally, have inflicted “severe reputational damage, mental distress, and loss of goodwill” upon their client. The letter explicitly conveyed that Wike's words, as published and disseminated by Channels Television, portrayed Cole “in their ordinary and natural meaning as a thief, a dishonest and fraudulent person, an economic saboteur, and a morally bankrupt man.”

Cole’s legal team further highlighted that the contentious interview remains publicly accessible on Channels Television’s official YouTube channel, thereby continuing to cause “ongoing reputational injury.” They also asserted that Wike acted “recklessly and in bad faith,” making statements “without any factual or legal basis whatsoever.”

In response to these allegations, Cole has demanded that Wike retract the defamatory statements and issue a public apology. This apology is required to be both in writing and communicated through the same media platforms, specifically including a live broadcast on Channels Television and publications in at least three national newspapers, all within 14 days of receiving the letter. In addition to the N20 billion compensation for defamation, Cole also seeks a written undertaking from Wike to cease making any further disparaging remarks about him. Okutepa warned that failure to comply with these demands would lead to a “resort to the use of weapons in legal armouries.”

In a separate but related action, Cole’s lawyers also directed a demand to Channels Television. They requested the media house to retract the statements, issue a public apology on live television and in at least three national newspapers, and pay N20 billion as compensation for the alleged reputational damage. Furthermore, they asked Channels Television to remove the interview from all its online platforms within 14 days.