According to PremiumTimes, The
management of Leadership Holdings Limited, publishers of Leadership
newspapers, has returned the N9 million it received from the Presidency
through the Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria as
compensation for the seizure of its publications in 2014.
In a letter dated January 29 and addressed to the General Secretary
of NPAN, the company said it decided to return the money after some
senior officials had gone behind to direct their organisations to refund
the compensation received from the government even though it was agreed
that they committed no offence by receiving the compensation.
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It specifically alleged that the chairman of Daily Trust newspaper,
Kabiru Yusuf, went behind the association and directed his newspaper to
refund the money.
The letter entitled Re: Compensation for illegal seizure of
newspapers was signed by the Group Managing Director of Leadership
Newspapers Group Limited, Mike Okpere.
The letter obtained by PREMIUM TIMES on Friday said,
“We refer to the
above subject matter and enclose herewith a Zenith Bank draft no
08549695 for the sum of N9,000,000.00 (Nine million Naira only) being
refund of the compensation paid by the Goodluck Jonathan government for
the crude and illegal seizure of our newspapers over a period of 5 days
by soldiers from the 6th of June to the 10th of June 2014 through the
Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN).
“It will be recalled that this was the sum paid to all newspapers
which incurred losses as a result of the act which was arrived ay when
President Jonathan pleaded for an out of court settlement.
“It has come to our notice that the chairman of Daily Trust, Malam
Kabiru Yusuf who was acting president of NPAN/chairman of the meeting
held at Mr. Sam Amuka’s guest house in Lagos in December 2015 where it
was agreed, after a detailed analysis of the situation that NPAN and the
newspapers committed no offence by the out of court settlement and
therefore had no reason to refund the compensation, has gone behind the
association’s back and directed the Daily Trust to refund money.
“After such a dishonourable act by the one person under whose
direction members of the association all agreed that there would be no
need to refund the money, it is our view that it is no longer tenable
not to refund. This is particularly more discomforting when it is
recalled that the decision to agree to the out of court settlement and
compensation was taken at the Abuja office of Daily Trust with Kabiru
Yusuf in attendance. It is for this reason that we are refunding the N9
million.
“But we will like to maintain the general position that neither the
NPAN nor newspaper committed any offence. Our chairman has also made it
clear that he does not see any situation where LEADERSHIP will be part
of any group that will take the current government to court.
“Therefore we should be counted out of any future decision to seek
redress in court on this same matter. After all it is not the government
that asked us to refund, it is the treachery of some of our members.
“Kindly be advised accordingly.”
Leadership newspaper is owned by Sam Nda-Isaiah, a former
presidential aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress.
It becomes the second known beneficiary of the compensation given by
the former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, a retired colonel,
to return its share of the money.
The Sun newspaper had earlier in December returned its own share of N9 million.
NPAN had received N120 million from the administration of President
Goodluck Jonathan in June 2014 as compensation for the seizure and
stoppage circulation of their newspapers by armed soldiers in Abuja and
several cities.
Some of the 12 newspapers, which allegedly got the compensation, dissociated themselves from the payments.
The newspapers are African Newspapers of Nigeria (ANN) Plc,
publishers of the Tribune titles; Peoples Media Limited, publishers of
Peoples Daily; Daily Telegraph Publishing Company Limited, publishers of
New Telegraph, Saturday Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph, and Independent
Newspapers Limited, publishers of Daily Independent newspapers.
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