Soldiers Seize Leadership Newspaper Friday Edition, Detain Workers

Some soldiers who claimed to be acting on orders from above have confiscated the Friday edition of Leadership Newspaper being distributed to Northwest, Southeast and Southsouth regions of Nigeria.

The officers of the Nigerian Army, who mounted a roadblock near the Abuja-Kaduna expressway tollgate, stopped the newspaper’s van heading towards Kaduna and seized its entire consignment and arrested the driver, including a worker of the media house who was with him (the driver).

In a similar manner, today’s edition of the paper to be distributed to both the Southeast and Southsouth regions were also confiscated by the military.

At the Abuja airport, copies of the publication to be flown to the Southeast states were seized just as some soldiers have stopped vendors in Benin City from selling the newspaper.

Although no reason has been given for this action, which reminds many of Nigeria’s dark days, it is, however, believed that the military is aggrieved over a report published by the newspaper on Tuesday that the Army authorities court-marshalled some officers, including generals, for aiding Boko Haram.