Copies of major news print dailies were either damaged or confiscated by the Nigerian military in an orchestrated raid at newspaper distribution centres cum channel across the nation, Friday.
At the Murtala Muhammed International Airpoirt, security operatives were seen destroying the front cover of t the Punch newspaper, while other sources said that the distribution vans for The Nation, Leadership and Daily Trust were ransacked and their contents were seized.
The military through its spokesperson, Major General Chris Olukolade confirmed the clampdown, saying it was acting on intelligence that the vans of news outlets were being used for the movement of materials with grave security implications across the country.
“The Defence Headquarters wishes to clarify that the exercise has nothing to do with content or operation of the media organisations or their personnel as is being wrongly imputed by a section of the press.
“The military appreciates and indeed respects the role of the media as an indispensable partner in the ongoing counter-insurgency operation and the overall advancement of our country’s democratic credentials. As such, the military will not deliberately and without cause, infringe on the freedom of the press.
“The general public and the affected media organisations in particular are assured that the exercise was a routine security action and should not be misconstrued for any other motive,” the statement read in parts.
In Ibadan, vendors and distributors watched helplessly at the distribution centre at the Oke-Padre junction as no fewer than 100 armed soldiers seized newspaper delivery vans.
Similar sights and scenes were also reported in Lokoja, Osogbo , Benin, Ondo and most state capitals across the nation.
The Editors Guild as called the clampdown a return back to the military era.