The Federal Government has ordered soldiers to vacate the premises of a national newspaper, Daily Trust, it occupied on Sunday.
Soldiers invaded the Abuja and Maiduguri, Borno State offices of the newspaper and arrested two officials – Uthman Abubakar (regional editor) and Ibrahim Sawab (reporter).
Although the reason for the invasion was not given, it is believed to be in connection with a report of the newspaper on Sunday over Boko Haram’s invasion of Baga and the military’s efforts to dislodge them.
In a tweet on Sunday, one of the media aides of President Muhammadu Buhari, Malam Garba Shehu, stated that the government had issued an order for the military to leave the premises.
According to him, the crisis between the military and newspaper would be resolved through dialogue.
The tweet reads: “The Federal Government has directed the military to vacate the premises of @daily_trust and the order has been complied with. Issues between the military and the newspaper as they affect the coverage of the war in the Northeast will be resolved through dialogue.”
