$2.1b arms deal: Leadership Newspaper returns its share of N9 million

The management of Leadership Holdings Limited,
publishers of Leadership newspapers, has
returned the N9m it received from the office of
former National Security Adviser through the
Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria as
compensation for the seizure of its publications in
June 2014.
In a letter dated January 29 and addressed to the
General Secretary of NPAN, the Publishing
company owned by former APC Presidential
aspirant, Sam Nda-Isaiah, said it decided to
return the money following the controversy it has
generated.
The company however noted that they did no
wrong by collecting the money since the decision
to collect the money was reached after former
President Goodluck Jonathan reached for an out
of court settlement with the affected newspapers.
Leadership will be the second publishing house
after The Sun to return the said compensation.
The letter titled "Compensation for illegal seizure
of newspapers", was signed by the Group
Managing Director of Leadership Newspapers
Group Limited, Mike Okpere. The letter reads
“We refer to the above subject matter and
enclose herewith a Zenith Bank draft no
08549695 for the sum of N9,000,000.00
(Nine million Naira only) being refund of the
compensation paid by the Goodluck
Jonathan government for the crude and
illegal seizure of our newspapers over a
period of 5 days by soldiers from the 6th
of June to the 10th of June 2014 through
the Newspapers Proprietors Association of
Nigeria (NPAN). It will be recalled that this
was the sum paid to all newspapers which
incurred losses as a result of the act which
was arrived at when President Jonathan
pleaded for an out of court settlement. It
has come to our notice that the chairman
of Daily Trust, Malam Kabiru Yusuf who
was acting president of NPAN/chairman of
the meeting held at Mr. Sam Amuka’s
guest house in Lagos in December 2015
where it was agreed, after a detailed
analysis of the situation that NPAN and the
newspapers committed no offence by the
out of court settlement and therefore had
no reason to refund the compensation, has
gone behind the association’s back and
directed the Daily Trust to refund money.
After such a dishonourable act by the one
person under whose direction members of
the association all agreed that there would
be no need to refund the money, it is our
view that it is no longer tenable not to
refund. This is particularly more
discomforting when it is recalled that the
decision to agree to the out of court
settlement and compensation was taken at
the Abuja office of Daily Trust with Kabiru
Yusuf in attendance. It is for this reason
that we are refunding the N9 million. But
we will like to maintain the general position
that neither the NPAN nor newspaper
committed any offence. Our chairman has
also made it clear that he does not see any
situation where LEADERSHIP will be part of
any group that will take the current
government to court. Therefore we should
be counted out of any future decision to
seek redress in court on this same matter.
After all it is not the government that asked
us to refund, it is the treachery of some of
our members. Kindly be advised
accordingly.”