FG continues clampdown on media, stops newspapers distribution

The Federal Government continued its clampdown on the media today
(Saturday) by disallowing circulation of newspapers in the Federal
Capital Territory and many parts of the country.

As early as 2am, armed soldiers stormed the newspaper distribution
centre at Gariki, 'Area One', Abuja, marching out marketers of media
houses, distributors and vendors.

They prevented marketers from offloading newspapers from distribution
vans that brought the newspapers to the centre.

The soldiers searched each of the marketers, distributors and vendors,
before allowing them to enter the centre.

The situation, however, worsened at 7am, when the soldiers ordered
them to go home, insisting that they would not allow the distribution
of the newspapers.

When the workers of the media houses and distributors assembled near
the centres, the soldiers dispersed them, threatening to deal with any
of them that failed to leave the area.

One of Punch correspondents learnt that the situation was the same in
some parts of the country.

In the South-West, distribution vans of The Nation were impounded with
the loads of the newspapers meant for distribution on Saturday.

The Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Newspaper Distributors in
Abuja, Mr. Oladipupo Moses, said the soldiers impounded the
distribution vans of several media houses at the Garki Area one
distribution point for the newspapers.

He said the distribution vans in custody of the soldiers included
those of The Guardian, Leadership, Thisday, Daily Trust, Sun, Pilot,
Newswatch and The Mirror.

Oladipupo said the soldiers, led by an officer in a green tracksuit,
said henceforth, all the distributors and the vendors must operate
with identity cards.

He said the Army Officer stated that some vendors had been caught with
arms in Jos, Plateau State, while other dangerous weapons were found
in market stalls where fruits were sold at Nyanya, Abuja.

Oladipupo said the soldiers assembled all the vendors and searched all
of them before releasing them to go.

According to him, the soldiers confiscated the vans and their content
and chased away all the distributors from the area.

He said, "They impounded all our distribution vans. The ones that
arrived early and were seized are Leadership, ThisDay, Daily Trust,
Sun, Pilot, Newswatch and The Mirror newspapers.

"The team leader told the leaders of the union that everybody should
be coming there for identification. The man said that everybody should
be coming here with an identity card.

"They took over and searched all of us. They said they arrested
vendors with arms in Jos. They also discovered arms in market stalls
where they sell fruits in Nyanya. They don't allow us to distribute
newspapers.

"They chased all the ones that came in the morning; they are there in
the morning. They refused to allow us to distribute the papers.
"They assembled all of us and searched all our pockets, but they
didn't beat anybody."

When one of Punch correspondents contacted the Director of Defence
Information, Maj. Gen Chris Olukolade, for his comment on the
military's action, he referred him to a statement on Friday in which
he said the action was a product of an intelligence report that the
vans were be disguised to circulate dangerous weapons.

He said, "See my statement of yesterday."

Olukolade had characteristically on Friday contradicted his earlier
statement by feigning ignorance of the seizures, telling another
correspondent,"You mean papers are being seized? No, such papers would
be released after the bundles had been searched."