The Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN) has explained why it accepted the offer N120 million for 12 of its members from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) as compensation for losses the media houses incurred following a military clampdown on newspapers by the immediate past administration in June 2014.
According to it, the decision to collect the said money for the affected media houses as compensation for the impounding of their newspapers and stoppage of circulation by security forces during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan was to avoid “prolonged confrontation”, the type some of its members had with the government during the military era.
In a statement issued at the end of an expanded executive council meeting held in Lagos, the umbrella body of print media organisations in the country noted that, having examined the issue of compensation after the onslaught against the media by the Nigerian military last year, it became necessary that some clarifications be made.
NPAN lamented that even those bereft of facts were trying to link it “with the alleged misdeeds of those who may have received huge sums of money from the office of the NSA unlawfully,” even as it said nothing could be farther from the truth.
Noting that there was no way its members would have suspected that the money given to them as compensation came from the office of the NSA since his office oversees the operation of the security forces that launched the assault on the media, to some extent, the association assured Nigerians “that the fierce independence, diversity and forthrightness that have characterised the Nigerian press remain unshaken.”
In the statement signed by its deputy president, Mallam Kabiru Yusuf, and general secretary, Dame Comfort Obi, the newspaper proprietors said that following the unlawfully seizure of newspapers, its members suffered huge losses in sales and advertising revenue as well as in business goodwill.
NPAN explained that, while many of its members “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.”
It added that in the face of the growing tension, the then president, Jonathan decided to hold a meeting with NPAN’s executive on June 12, 2014 at the State House in Marina, Lagos, apparently in a move to “stem the spate of multiple litigations against security agencies and the federal government.”
The statement made available to LEADERSHIP further noted: “at this meeting, the President (Jonathan) apologised for the infraction of press freedom and the disruption of the business rhythm of our members. This was well received by our members. In recognition of the president’s gesture, one of our executive officers, Lady Maiden Ibru, spoke in favour of the association dropping the demand for compensation, but because some members wanted to seek redress in court, it was decided to pursue a civil resolution of the matter

it is well.