Babachir Lawal, former secretary to the government of the federation (SGF), lashed out at a journalist during a live broadcast on Tuesday, July 8.

Legit.ng reports that the clip of the exchange quickly went viral, sparking backlash across social media.

Trouble started when TVC News journalist, Nifemi Oguntoye, compared the electoral process of 2019, under Muhammadu Buhari, to that of 2023 that produced President Bola Tinubu. Lawal is today a key member of the opposition coalition.

The anchor said: “Mr Lawal, it is the same electoral processes (sic) in 2019 and 2023. I mean the same administration you served under. I didn’t see quite much difference between what happened then and now."

In response, Lawal said: “Give me a break, my friend! Shut up. Shut up. Get out. Give me a break. How can you say the Buhari government’s electoral process is the same as Bola Tinubu’s? What’s your problem? Give me a break.

Responding, the journalist said: “I’ll take ‘get out’ because I’ve invited you to my house, but I’m just trying to have an intellectual conversation with you Mr. Lawal.”

Meanwhile, broadcaster Reuben Abati has dared Lawal to repeat his on-air outburst on Arise TV after the latter told Oguntoye to “shut up” during an interview.

Commenting on the scene on Wednesday, July 9, Abati condemned Lawal’s behaviour and warned that such conduct would not be tolerated on Arise TV. He said: “Let Babachir Lawal come here and try it and try to say ‘shut up’—the kind of flogging that he will receive. Infact, he will not be able to sleep that night." The former presidential spokesperson added: “It can never happen here. Try it here, now. Let him come.”

In the same vein, veteran journalist Bamidele Johnson criticsed Lawal's behaviour. He wrote on his known Facebook page: "Nyesom Wike is loud. He is brash and looks perpetually irate. He has the subtlety of a sledgehammer on an egg. And yes, and it would difficult to find an answerable argument against the fact that he has skanskan.

But here’s the thing: for all his excesses, I have never seen Wike tell an interviewer to shut up on live television. Not once. And this is a man who has done interviews like he’s the bandleader in a jazz club, shouting over saxophones. While you may argue that the monthly ones he does are set-pieces, I’ve seen him many, where he had no control over the stage, yet never did he yell “zip it!” to a journalist.

"Now contrast that with Babachir Lawal on TVC, who decided to serve the nation a different kinda tantrum. I already didn’t hold him in high regard, but I also didn’t peg him as the kind of senior citizen who would melt faster than Blue Band in a Borno sun. Watching him bark “shut up!” and “give me a break!” at an interviewer was pitiful. A whole Babachir, reduced to a Twitter troll with a microphone in front of him. If he is this edgy now, grey, retired and irrelevant, you have to wonder if he was not an ogre in his salad days.

Probably the type who would confiscate your chair for breathing wrong. "The last time I saw this level of emotional flatulence was three years ago when the doddering Buba Galadima told Channels TV’s Seun Okinbaloye that he had “lost his mind” simply for asking a question about the viability of the newly cobbled together NNPP, which Galadima was treating like his emotional support animal. That was geriatrics gone rogue.

"Funny how these same people are always howling about the constriction of the civic space, yet cannot handle anything other than sweetheart questions. While there is no place for being uncouth, rude, insolent and, snide in the trade, journalists are not foot masseuses."

If we criticise rude, overbearing journalists when necessary, including those speaking “empirical facts here” and reducing the trade to juju or fuji music where the singer routinely calls himself “ologuro oba ede, ‘aloyinlohun”, these guys should not get a “senior discount” on accountability."

1. After 15 years on air, I’ve learned that not every heated moment needs a heated response.

When Babachir Lawal told me to “shut up” on live TV, it was a test of composure, not ego.

Some wanted a stronger pushback, others appreciated the restraint. For me, it was about… pic.twitter.com/jYCqB6ZgD4

— Nifemi Oguntoye🇳🇬 (@nifemioguntoye) July 8, 2025