Nigerian military defends attack on Newspapers, describes it as “routine security action”
Category: Nigerian National News
The papers involved are the Punch, Leadership and the Nation newspapers.
The
Nigerian military on Friday morning confiscated and destroyed copies of
three national newspapers, the Punch, Leadership and the Nation, around
the country. The military also defended its actions in a statement.
The
earliest report of the bizarre incident was the confiscation of copies
of the Leadership Newspaper along the Abuja-Kaduna expressway and at the
Abuja airport. At the Edo State office of the Nigeria Union of
Journalists in Benin, copies of Leadership and Nation Newspapers were
seized from vendors.
The Punch Newspaper was also allegedly
involved in the raid. The paper’s Punch Editor, Toyosi Ogunseye,
confirmed on Twitter that front pages of the newspaper were torn at the
Lagos airport on Friday morning by soldiers.
The Nation online
reported that soldiers impounded several vehicles conveying its
newspapers to various stations in the South-south and other parts of the
country. The paper also said that troops stormed its circulation depot
located on Effurun, Sapele in search of the newspapers and the company’s
staff.
“A van conveying the day’s newspapers to Warri and Benin
City was seized by soldiers of the 3 Battalion of the Nigerian Army at
Okwuokoko, Delta State,” it said.
In its reaction to the reports,
the Nigerian mlitary on Friday said it would not deliberately infringe
on the freedom of the press without cause.
The Director Defence
Information, Chris Olukolade, in a statement said that intelligence
indicated that materials with grave security implications were being
moved across the country through newsprint related consignments.
Mr. Olukolade said the exercise had nothing to do with the content or operation of the media organisations.
“The
Defence Headquarters wishes to clarify that the exercise has nothing to
do with content or operation of the media organizations or their
personnel as is being wrongly imputed by a section of the press,” Mr.
Olukolade said.
He also said that the military appreciated and
respected the role of the media as an indispensable partner in the
on-going counter-insurgency operation and assured the general public and
the affected media organizations in particular that the exercise was a
routine security action and should not be misconstrued for any other
motive.
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