>
Publisher of ThisDay Newspaper, Mr. Nduka Obaigbena, has returned the sum of N350m to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), The Punch reports.
The report added that Obaigbena was said to have returned the money to the commission on Tuesday.
The money is part of the N670million collected from the office of former National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki. He is expected to pay the balance of N550million next week.
He was quizzed by EFCC officials on January 29, 2016 after returning from an extended trip outside the country.
The commission released him after 24 hours after he had agreed to sign an undertaking to make a refund of the money in two weeks.
Recall that Obaigbena had in December confessed to receiving a total of N670m from Dasuki.
He was paid him N550 million as compensation for Boko Haram attacks on his newspaper’s offices in Abuja and Kaduna in 2012.
He said he also received N120million on behalf of 12 newspapers whose circulation was disrupted by security agents in June 2014 over suspicion their vehicles were being used to transport explosive materials.
The money for the publication was paid to him in his capacity as president of the Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN).
At least three newspapers – The Sun, Leadership and Blueprint – have announced a refund of the N9million they each got from the package.