Nduka Obaigbena, Chairman and Publisher of ThisDay Newspapers Group on
Friday admitted that he collected the sum of N550 million from the
office of the National Security Adviser, NSA, as compensation for the
Abuja and Kaduna offices of the media group bombed by the insurgent
group Boko Haram and another N300 million for Newspapers Proprietors
Association of Nigeria, NPAN, as a compensation for their publications
seized by the military in 2013.
Obaigbena who has been invited by Nigeria’s anti-graft agency, the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, over the ongoing
investigations into the mismanagement of the sum of $2.2 billion
budgeted for procurement of weapons for the armed forces when Sambo
Dasuki was the NSA said this in a statement he released on Friday as
published on the website of his newspaper.
While denying that he received any form of suspicious funds from the
office of the NSA, Obaigbena in a response to the letter of invitation
from the EFCC dated 8th November 2015, stated that all funds received
from the office of the NSA “are payments for compensation to mitigate
the dastardly Boko Haram twin bombings of the ThisDay Newspapers offices
in Abuja and Kaduna on Thursday, April 26, 2012.”
Obaigbena said four lives were lost in addition to the buildings’
full colour gloss printing towers, three (3) pre-press Computer-to-Plate
and anciliary equipment and other property it valued at over N2.5
billion during the attack.
In the December 9, 2015 letter, Obaigbena said his company received
the sum of N150,000,000 each twice and N250,000,000 respectively in
August, November and February 2014 as compensation for the Boko Haram
attack from the office of the NSA.
He stated further in the letter that he received N100,000,000 and
N20,000,000 in March 2015 for Newspapers Proprietors Association of
Nigeria (NPAN) and 12 newspapers “who demanded compensation for the
brutal and unlawful seizure of newspapers and stoppage of circulation by
armed soldiers in Abuja and several cities. As President of the NPAN,
it was my duty to lead media leaders to hold discussions with President
Goodluck Jonathan to avert a class action lawsuit against the Armed
Forces and the Federal Government of Nigeria.
“On both occasions, President Jonathan said he did not wish to lay
precedence and in our case, he specifically said there were many victims
of Boko Haram. I had to confront President Jonathan on the issue when I
learnt of approvals for the reconstruction of the Abuja United Nations
Building, since we were the second major organisation to be attacked by
Boko Haram after the UN attack. He therefore directed me to meet the
National Security Adviser who processed the 3 payments in question.
“Please find attached a copy of our letter to President Jonathan as
well as correspondence with the then NSA on the Newspapers’ payment. I
will be make my way to Nigeria to meet with you should you require
further information,” the letter stated.
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