Ebun Francis
The federal government on Sunday directed the military hierarchy to order the withdrawal of soldiers from the offices of Daily Trust newspaper in Abuja, Kaduna, Maiduguri, and Lagos.
Soldiers on Sunday invaded the head office of the newspaper in Abuja and its regional offices and arrested Uthman Abubakar, the newspaper’s regional editor, and Ibrahim Sawab, a reporter.
The reason for the invasion is yet to be known, but in an interview with Channels Television on Sunday, the editor of the Newspaper said the invasion may have been necessitated by the report the publication on a planned military operation in Baga, Bornu state.
During the invasion, the soldiers were said to have requested to see Hamza Idris, Daily Trust’s political editor who co-authored Sunday’s frontpage report about the military’s operation in the north-east.
Reacting to the development on Sunday evening, Garba Shehu, presidential spokesman, in a tweet, said the issue will be resolved through dialogue.
“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,” Shehu tweeted on Sunday evening”.