Al Jazeera Apologised Privately’ — Tinubu’s Aide Takes Media Giant To Court

The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, has claimed that Al Jazeera privately apologised to him following his controversial appearance on the network’s Head to Head programme but declined to make the apology public.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

Speaking during an episode of The Morayo Show released on Wednesday, Bwala said he rejected the broadcaster’s private apology and insisted that it should publicly acknowledge what he described as its mistake.

According to him, Al Jazeera refused, arguing that issuing a public apology could undermine the credibility of the network and its affiliated programmes.

“They apologised to me privately, but I told them to make it public on social media. They declined, saying it would damage their credibility, not just that of the programme but the entire Al Jazeera Network,” Bwala said.

The presidential aide disclosed that he has since instructed his lawyers in England to institute legal proceedings against the international broadcaster, adding that the matter is currently before a court in the United Kingdom.

Bwala appeared on Head to Head, hosted by journalist Mehdi Hasan, in March, where he faced questions about previous comments he made while serving as spokesperson for former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s presidential campaign.

During the interview, Hasan presented old video clips, quotations and public statements in which Bwala had criticised President Bola Tinubu, questioning why he later became one of the President’s supporters and advisers.

Throughout the exchange, Bwala denied making several of the statements attributed to him, repeatedly insisting, “I never said that.”

The interview quickly gained traction on social media, sparking widespread debate and criticism over the presidential aide’s responses.

Explaining the basis of his lawsuit, Bwala argued that Al Jazeera later admitted it should have informed him beforehand that the interview would focus on his credibility, his previous criticism of Tinubu and his subsequent political realignment.

He maintained that the network acknowledged this omission violated its own editorial standards.

According to Bwala, the broadcaster admitted it should have disclosed the direction of the interview in advance and apologised for failing to do so.

The presidential aide also said he sought the opinions of several media experts after the programme, including British broadcaster Piers Morgan through an intermediary, and was advised that the interview had not been handled properly.

He further accused presenter Mehdi Hasan of selectively editing the pre-recorded interview in a way that misrepresented his responses.

Bwala claimed that the presenter removed an opening exchange in which he admitted making critical remarks about Tinubu in the past but argued that those issues fell outside the agreed scope of the interview.

According to him, he had warned Hasan that if questioning continued in that direction, he would deny the statements because they were unrelated to the subject he had agreed to discuss.

He alleged that removing that portion of the interview created the impression that he was simply denying his previous remarks without providing any context.

Bwala said his legal team believes the broadcast amounted to defamation and expressed confidence that the matter would be resolved by the court in England.

“The case is now before the court, and we are awaiting the judgment because my legal advisers believe it is a clear case of defamation,” he said.