Nigerian military has 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.
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.
