The Lagos Bureau Office of the Media Trust Ltd (publishers of Daily Trust newspaper titles) has been taken over by a combination of armed military and police officers.
The security operatives had earlier in the day besieged and shut down the Borno regional office of the newspaper before arresting the regional editor, Uthman Abubakar and a reporter, Ibrahim Sawab.
Similarly, at Daily Trust headquarters in Abuja, armed soldiers besieged the premises, carted away computers and held the staff hostage for about four hours before they eventually left the premises.
At about 9pm, it was observed that a total of seven security operatives’ vehicles have been stationed within and outside the Lagos office of Daily Trust situated at the Textile Labour House, Acme Road, Agidingbi in Ikeja, Lagos.
Of the seven vehicles, two Hilux vans and one Rapid Response Squad (RRS) cars were situated right in front of the Bureau office. Four other Hilux vans were situated at the other side of the road, facing TheNews publishing house, a stone throw from Media Trust office.
About 15 soldiers and police officers were seen angling around the premises as at the time of filing this report.