The Chairman of ThisDay Newspaper, Nduka Obaigbena, has explained why former President Goodluck Jonathan gave approvals that N670 million should be released to him by the former National Security Adviser, retired Colonel Sambo Dasuki.
Obaigbena stated this in a letter to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, which has invited him for questioning over the money.
The N670 million is among the monies alleged to have been fraudulently released by Dasuki to some prominent Nigerians.
As of Friday morning, the EFCC had compiled a list of charges against Dasuki and some others, with the N670 million listed as given to Obaigbena fraudulently.
The Duke, as Obaigbena is popularly called, however, said no money was fraudulently released to him.
He said the money, released in batches, was for the assistance he solicited for the repairs of the ThisDay office in Abuja, which was bombed by the Boko Haram terrorists, and for the loss recorded by media houses when military men violently seized their newspapers.
The ThisDay office in Abuja was bombed by Boko Haram in 2012.
The newspaper’s office in Kaduna, though not owned by Obaigbena, was also attacked on April 26, 2012.
Obaigbena thus wrote Jonathan for compensation for the bombing of his company.
Though it was not revealed how much Jonathan approved, N550 million was released to the publisher of ThisDay newspaper for the Boko Haram attack.
The money was released in tranches of N250 million in February 2014, N150 million in August 2014 and another N150 million in November 2014.
The balance of N120 million released to Obaigbena by Dasuki was compensation to 12 newspaper houses for the violent seizure of their publications by the military.
The money was released to Obaigbena as the Chairman of the Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria.
It was released in tranches of N100 million and N20 million.
Newspapers that benefitted were ThisDay, Vanguard, Sun, The Nation, New Telegraph, Daily Trust, People’s Daily, Leadership, Daily Independent, Tribune, Guardian and BusinessDay.