Tinubu's Aide, Bwala, Reveals What Al Jazeera Told Him After Controversial Interview

• Presidential aide Daniel Bwala revealed that Al Jazeera privately apologised to him over his widely criticised Head to Head interview with Mehdi Hasan
• Bwala said the network refused his demand to make the apology public, citing concerns about its credibility and impact on other programmes
• He said he instructed lawyers in England to pursue a defamation case after Al Jazeera rejected his call for a public statement

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Legit.ng journalist Adekunle Dada has over 8 years of experience covering metro, government policy, and international issues

FCT, Abuja- Presidential aide Daniel Bwala has disclosed that Al Jazeera issued him a private apology over his March 2026 appearance on the network's Head to Head programme, hosted by Mehdi Hasan.

Bwala said the TV station refused to make the apology public — a decision that led him to file a defamation lawsuit against the broadcaster in England.

As reported by The Punch, he disclosed during an interview on Morayo Afolabi-Brown's show, published on YouTube on Wednesday.

Al Jazeera's private apology to Daniel Bwala

According to Bwala, the broadcaster acknowledged that it had breached its own editorial standards by failing to inform him beforehand that part of the conversation would be used to question his credibility.

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"The substance of the apology was that they should have told me that part of what they discussed with me was a talking point, that they were also going to interrogate me on my credibility for supporting the person I had attacked before. By their own ethics, they ought to have told me that, but they said they were sorry they didn't."

When Bwala pushed for the apology to be made public, the network declined, telling him it would damage its credibility and affect other programmes on the Al Jazeera platform.

"They apologised to me privately. I said they should put it on social media. They said they will not put it on social media, it will affect their credibility, because it's not just them, but their other programmers at the Al Jazeera network too."

Bwala's editing and defamation claims

Bwala further alleged that Al Jazeera selectively edited the footage to portray him unfavourably.

He said the full recording ran for one hour and 30 minutes, but only 49 minutes were published, with portions showing him fact-checking Hasan and receiving applause from the studio audience removed.

Bwala said he also sought the perspective of British broadcaster Piers Morgan, whom he reached through an intermediary, and who reportedly agreed the network's conduct was improper.

Daniel Bwala sues Al Jazeera

With the network unwilling to publicly acknowledge its error, Bwala said he had no choice but to escalate the matter legally.

"When they apologised, I said no, put it on social media. They refused. So I instructed my lawyers in England to go to court. The case is currently in court."

Bwala addresses outrage over Al Jazeera's interview

Recall that Bwala reacted to the outrage that followed his interview on the international media, Al Jazeera.

Bwala, in a statement on Saturday, March 7, explained that most of his critics on the interviews are members of the opposition who have no alternative policies to offer Nigerians.

The presidential aide also noted that he was not the only appointee who was once a critic of President Bola Tinubu and that US President Donald Trump had given appointments to many of his critics.