From the early hours of Friday 6 June, the Nigerian army began halting the distribution of major national newspapers in what it claimed was part of a security operation. Newspapers including the Leadership, Daily Trust, The Nation and The Punch said their distribution vans were either stopped or seized in several cities across the country. As the clampdown continued through 10 June, the Director of Defence Information, Major General Chris Olukolade, defended the operation until “satisfied” with security checks on the country’s newspaper distribution networks.