The Nigerian Army, following a directive from the Presidency, has vacated the premises of the Daily Trust in Abuja, Maiduguri and Lagos.
In a coordinated operation, on Sunday, the army invaded the Daily Trust’s Maiduguri regional office, head office in Abuja and Lagos Bureau Office carting away computers and arresting the editor of the Maiduguri office Uthman Abubakar and a reporter, Sawab.
A tweet by Senior Special Assistant on Media to President Muhammadu Buhari, Garba Shehu, at his official handle @GarShehu late Sunday night announced the withdrawal of the army from the Newspaper’s offices.
The tweet read:”The Federal Government has directed the military to vacate the premises of @daily_trust and the order has been complied with. Issues between the military and the newspaper as they affect the coverage of the war in the Northeast will be resolved through dialogue.”
Media Trust, publishers of the newspaper in a statement by the editor-in-chief, Manir Dan-Ali, confirmed that the siege was lifted at 9.30pm but did not confirm the release of its computers.
The News Agency of Nigeria reported that the army may have been irked by a report in the Sunday edition of the newspaper, revealing military preparations for a massive war against Boko Haram in the North East.
Quoting military sources, NAN said that the report revealed too much and endangered the planned operation.
However, in his statement Manir Dan-Ali noted that they were not given any reason for the invasion, adding though that they suspected “it may have to do with the lead story of the Daily Trust on Sunday that dwelt on the military’s effort to retake some towns recently reported to have been lost to insurgents.”
He said their suspicion was based on the fact that the military men were asking for the reporters who authored the story.
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Manir Dan-Ali expressed appreciation to all those who had supported them in one way or the other during the siege.
“We have not been told of the reason for the military operation against this newspaper but suspect it may have to do with the lead story of the Daily Trust on Sunday that dwelt on the military’s effort to retake some towns recently reported to have been lost to insurgents.
“Another clue is that during the invasion of our premises both in Maiduguri and in Abuja, the military men were asking for the reporters who wrote the story.
“Media Trust Limited condemns this unlawful act and calls on the military authorities to release the two reporters arrested in Maiduguri and return the dozens of computers that were taken from our newsroom.
“We also like to thank our colleagues in the media and all others who have been calling and supporting us in our hour of need.
“We also appreciate the efforts of some government officials who insist that there is a better way of handling relations with the media,” he said.
