Soldiers Seize Newspapers, Detain Drivers in Abuja

In a style akin to the dark days of the military junta in Nigeria, the Nigerian Army Saturday, unleashed its officers and men on the media preventing them from circulating their newspapers in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory and other states in the North.
The action of the soldiers enters its second day without any cogent reason advanced by the military high command for the clampdown.
No fewer than 30 soldiers, claiming to be acting on "orders from above" descended on the newspaper distribution centre in Area 1 Garki, Saturday morning and prevented the distributors and vendors from circulating papers in Abuja and environs.
The soldiers, who stormed the distribution centre in ten trucks, mounted surveillance around the large compound behind the United Nations Building and ordered all the drivers, who came to drop their papers to surrender them or lose their lives.
Apart from stopping the drivers from moving out of their vehicles, the soldiers also searched them thoroughly and prevented them from making phone calls.
The seizure of the newspapers and their drivers, which started around 2:30am did not end until 1:45pm on Saturday following the intervention by the Publisher of Thisday Newspaper and NPAN Chairman, Chief Nduka Obaigbena.
Before the release of the drivers and their consignments, several top government officials from the Presidency, the National Assembly, the NSA office and others, had sent their emissaries to collect their daily supplies of newspapers from the embattled distributors.
However at about noon, a Brig. Gen. from the Brigade of Guards came to the centre and met briefly with the officers and men keeping watch over the drivers and left.
Later, a soldier pleaded with the angry drivers and distributors to await further instructions as they were likely to be released by 2pm.
It was however learnt that as a result of mounting pressing on the soldiers, they were forced to free the distributors and drivers at 1:45pm.
Vanguard learnt that others newspapers that were dispatched for distribution in the northern part of the country were also seized at various checkpoints by the soldiers.
It is still unclear why the military is descending on the media in its fight against insurgency, while it is difficult to locate and rescue the over 200 girls seized by gunmen from Chibok.
The Director of Defence Information, Gen. Chris Olukolade, had on Friday claimed that the decision by soldiers to confiscate newspapers was not aimed at gagging the media.
Source: Vanguardngr