The Senior Special Assistant on Media to President Buhari, Mr. Garba Shehu,
Who announced this on Sunday in Abuja tweeted: ”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.”
Media Trust, publishers of the newspaper confirmed that the siege was lifted at 9.30pm.
The Daily Trust had reported that its Maiduguri regional office was shut down by security
operatives on Sunday and its editor, Uthman Abubakar, and reporter Ibrahim Sawab
arrested.
Later, the newspaper also said its head office in Abuja was also invaded and computers
carted away.
In what appeared to be a coordinated operation, a little while later, the Lagos Bureau Office
was reportedly taken over by a combined team of military and police officers.
The Media Trust did not confirm the release of its computers in the statement by Manir
Dan-Ali, the Editor-in-Chief.
What appeared to have triggered the military wrath was a report in the Sunday edition of
the newspaper, revealing military preparations for a massive war against Boko Haram in
the North East.
Military sources said that the report much and endangered the planned
operation.
But in his statement, Manir Dan-Ali claimed: “We have not been told of the reason for the
military operation against this newspaper, but suspect it may have to do with the lead story
of the Daily Trust on Sunday that dwelt on the military’s effort to retake some towns recently
reported to have been lost to insurgents.
“Another clue is that during the invasion of our premises both in Maiduguri and in Abuja, the
military men were asking for the reporters who wrote the story.
“Media Trust Limited condemns this unlawful act and calls on the military authorities to
release the two reporters arrested in Maiduguri and return the dozens of computers that
were taken from our newsroom.
“We also like to thank our colleagues in the media and all others, who have been calling and
supporting us in our hour of need.
“We also appreciate the efforts of some government officials, who insist that there is a better
way of handling relations with the media.”