The head office of the Leadership Newspapers in Utako, Abuja was locked down by security operatives over a reported N100 million debt arising from a libel suit filed by Senator Mohammed Isah.
According to Daily Post, Senator Isah Mohammed hails from Niger State and the security agents were working on the authority of a court order with regards to the indebtedness of the newspaper.
The court order, multiple reports say, mandated the recovery of properties including vehicles belonging to the newspaper.
Already, about six vehicles have been towed away by the assigned officers.
Security operatives, prior to the raid of the office had swooped on the home of Sam Nda-Isaiah, the publisher and an chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and carted away important equipment in his house.
The senator had about 7 years ago approached the court over a libellous publication against him by the newspapers. He won the case and the court awarded him N100 million in damages.
According to Daily Post, the official vehicle of the general editor has equally been towed away by the officers.
Staff of the newspapers are currently working for free as they are being owed for more than 20 months.
Editorial staff were recently paid quarter salary, after several months of no remuneration.
A source told our reporter that the publisher, Nda Isaiah rakes in millions on a daily bases but intentionally refuses to pay his staff.
”He lives in a house worth more than 1 billion Naira, yet he treats those working with him with disdain,” the source said.
Speaking about the terrible condition of the Newspapers due to poor management, a source said, “Leadership has only one computer in the whole of the newsroom. All systems in the offices have crashed and the Publisher is unable to replace them. This goes to show how the newspapers is being run. I can say the operatives are unlucky as they won’t find computers in the offices.
“And he is found of embarrassing the staff even when he is not paying. Imagine a pharmacist embarrassing and enslaving trained journalists.
”You heard about the disclaimer on Duro Hassan. This is the same guy that brought in over N130 million for 400 pages of adverts.
“Simply because he removed N6 million commission and another N2 million of his salary, the publisher dragged him to the police, and lost. Because he lost, he ordered that continuous publication of disclaimers on him. This is sad,” the source lamented.
Another source staff of the newspaper told the online newspaper that he is being owed N3 million in salaries.
He said Leadership is “dead and the killer is the publisher, Nda Isaiah. He rakes in millions from adverts and we don’t know how the monies are being spent”.
