NPAN reveals why it accepted N120M from former NSA

chika ebuzor

December 24, 2015 6:32 AM

The association claims the money was meant for compensation of 12 of its members whose newspapers were seized in June 2014.

Nigeria's former National Security Advisor Mohammed Sambo Dasuki listens to a question after his address at Chatham House in London, January 22, 2015. REUTERS/Andrew Winning

The Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN) has come out to reveal why it received N120 million from the National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki.

According to Leadership Newspapers, a statement signed by NPAN’s Deputy President, Mallam Kabiru Yusuf, and General Secretary, Dame Comfort Obi, said many of its members were “affected by this reckless assault considered resorting to the courts to seek redress, the development became even more alarming when “the military authorities claimed that they had intelligence that newspaper vans were being used to ferry bomb making materials, an outrageous charge that seems to be a prelude to some sort of clampdown.”

Adding that “The federal government and NPAN agreed to settle the matter out of court. In consequence of this, members were requested to submit a statement of their losses for consideration. All active member newspapers submitted their claims, with some as low as N100,000 and others running into hundreds of millions.”

“Having suffered a lot of harassments during the military era, with some cases still winding their way through our courts, members agreed to a reasonable settlement over prolonged confrontation. Most of our members duly collected the compensation in good faith. Meanwhile the cheques for The Guardian, Tribune, and Peoples Daily, are still with our secretariat.

“Member newspapers that received the money could not have any suspicion why it was paid from the Office of the National Security Adviser since the onslaught on newspapers was carried out by the security forces over which the office of the NSA, to some extent, superintend,” the statement said.

Read: Tribune, Daily Independent, Telegraph deny getting N10m

You will recall that Nigerian Tribune,Daily Independent and New Telegraph denied getting N10m compensation fee from the publisher of Thisday Newspapers and Chairman of the Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN), Nduka Obaigbena.

chika ebuzor