It was a day of defeat and sorrow for the Supply and Transport (S&T) unit of the Nigerian Army as they were dethroned as champions of the tug-of-war event at the 2024 West African Social Activities (WASA).
The loss to the Nigerian Army Medical Corps was so painful for members of the S&T unit that they became visibly agitated, venting their frustrations on those around them, including journalists.
A reporter from Vanguard newspaper became the target of this agitation while carrying out his duties at the event, which he had been officially invited to cover. As part of his routine, the journalist used his Android phone to take photos, record audio, transcribe, and write his report on the event.
Suddenly, the Military Assistant to the Corps Commander of S&T, a Nigerian Army captain whose name is yet to be confirmed, approached the journalist. The officer demanded to know who he was. The reporter explained that he was a journalist from Vanguard newspaper and had been duly invited to cover the event.
The captain then asked the journalist to prove his invitation, which the reporter did by presenting a virtual copy of the invitation letter. The letter, signed by a certain Colonel A.O. Salami on behalf of the Commander of the Corps of Supply and Transport, confirmed his authorization to attend. However, the Military Assistant dismissed the letter, claiming anyone could have forged it using the unit’s letterhead.
To the reporter’s shock, the captain seized his phone and refused to return it, insisting he did not believe the reporter was legitimate.
In an attempt to resolve the situation, the Vanguard journalist sought the intervention of the Defence Correspondent from The Sun newspaper. Despite the intervention, the captain remained unyielding and even demanded that the Sun reporter identify himself.
The Sun correspondent, a long-standing military affairs journalist, refused to comply, stating that he did not need to prove his identity unless the captain introduced himself. He reiterated that the official invitation letter served as sufficient authorization for both reporters to attend the event.
The matter escalated when the Sun journalist referred the captain to Paragraph 5 of the invitation letter, which explicitly stated:
“The liaison officer for the event is Lieutenant Colonel Ipalibo Dokubo and can be reached on telephone number 08033…1400.”
Despite this clear directive, the captain disowned the letter, refusing to acknowledge its validity. When the Sun reporter suggested verifying the details with the APRD (Army Public Relations Department) officer present at the event, the captain became defensive, questioning whether they were “reporting him to a major.”
At one point, the captain abandoned his role as a military assistant and began acting as a security officer, threatening to “deal with” the journalists.
It eventually took the intervention of senior officers and APRD representatives from the Nigerian Army College of Logistics and the Nigerian Army Ordnance Corps to de-escalate the situation. Only then did the captain reluctantly return the phone to the Vanguard reporter.
 unit of the Nigerian Army as they were dethroned as champions of the tug-of-war event at the 2024 West African Social Activities (WASA).){kind=link}