Nduka Obaigbena, editor-in-chief and chairman of THISDAY, has denied profiting from controversial $2 billion arms deal scandal, insisting that the N550 million payments he received from the former national security adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki, were compensation for the Boko Haram attack on the Abuja office of the newspaper on April 26, 2012.
The publisher of THISDAY newspapers made the clarification in a written response to an official invitation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to explain the circumstances surrounding the payments made to his company.
Mr. Obaigbena also claimed in the letter addressed to the EFCC Chairman that the additional N130 million was compensation for 12 newspapers whose circulation was disrupted in June 2014 by soldiers who said they were acting on intelligence that Boko Haram wanted to transport explosive materials under the guise of media vehicles.
Obaigbena, it would be recalled wrote to former President Goodluck Jonathan on July 26, 2012, seeking compensation for the Boko Haram attack which left four persons dead and destroyed property estimated by THISDAY to be N2.4 billion.
He also demanded for extra provision of security to protect lives and property at the office as well as sought compensation for the newspapers affected by the controversial circulation clampdown carried out by the military.
However, in his latest letter dated December 9, 2015 and sent to EFCC on Friday, Obaigbena promised to honour the commission’s invitation after returning from the United States, insisting that he never received any “suspicious” payment from the NSA.
By Olisemeka Obeche