Members of the Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities (SSANU) and those of the Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities (SANU) have demanded an immediate apology from the Nigeria Police Force for violating their protest in Abuja on Thursday.
By Chimezie Godfrey
Members of the Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities (SSANU) and those of the Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities (SANU) have demanded an immediate apology from the Nigeria Police Force for violating their protest in Abuja on Thursday.
This is contained in a statement signed by Benson Upah, Head of Information and Public Affairs of the Associations, made available to newsmen.
Recall that members of SSANU and SANU converged at the Unity Fountain for a protest and demanding the payment of their four months’ withheld salaries and the renegotiation of the 2010 agreement with the Federal Government among other demands.
According to Upah, the FCT Police Command Commissioner, Compol Bennett Igweh deployed to the venue of the protest, armoured tanks, assault dogs and police personnel in battle gear who broke up the peaceful protest using excessive force and other hostile means.
In the light of the foregoing, he called for an immediate apology from the Policed, warning that the government risks a major national industrial protest if it continues to ignore their wise counsel.
He said,“The FCT Police Command Commissioner, Compol Bennett Igweh deservedly earned our outrage and contempt by violently breaking up a peaceful protest at Unity Fountain on Thursday, July 18, 2024 by members of two of our affiliates, NASU and SSANU.
“Compol Igweh caused to be deployed to the venue of the protest, armoured tanks, assault dogs and police personnel in battle gear who broke up the peaceful protest using excessive force and other hostile means.
“In light of this, we demand an immediate police apology to NASU and SSANU members whom they violated.
“We also demand the immediate payment of the withheld salaries. We had had cause to write to government as well as issued a press statement on this matter in the recent past.
“Government will be courting a major national industrial protest if it continues to ignore our wise counsel.”
Upah condemned the ugly development stressing that the behaviour of the police is an affront to the 1999 constitution (as amended), ILO Conventions 87 and 98 and African Charter on People and Human Rights which guarantee freedom of association and speech; a violation of the Supreme Court ruling that citizens do not need the permit or approval of the police to peacefully protest and an insult to the dignity of self-respecting and law-abiding citizens.
“We need to let the powers that be, especially Compol Igweh and those who sent him that we are not in a Police State and if his intentions are to scare and intimidate workers protesting under the law, then they have picked on wrong customers.
“We fought for this democracy and we will not fold our hands and allow intestinal-minded people destroy it.
“We are concerned that officers like Compol Igweh who should be inspiring a new generation of officers away from the colonial traditions of policing are the ones leading the charge into the abyss,” he said.
He added,”We want to assure him and his ilks that no one will bestow on him a medal for his unprofessional and disgusting behaviour. However, in the event he finds himself as one of the beneficiaries this new bizarre bazaar of self-bemedalling, we say ahead of time that it is not a medal to wear with honour.
“Under Compol Igweh’s watch, FCT has been crawling with bandits, criminals and crooks (both in low and high places) even in the heart of the city. Life has never been this frightening for law-abiding citizens. Instead of training the turrets of his armoured tanks on these social misfits, it is peaceful workers that are his victims.
“Igweh does not need to go far for a refresher course on safe-guarding FCT. One of his predecessors who is now a DIG (who rid Abuja of crime and still related well with citizens) is only an ear-shot away at Louis Edet House.
“The reason for the peaceful protest by NASU and SSANU is very much in the public domain——non-payment of their four-months withheld salaries after workers in other unions were paid for the same strike action.”
He pointed out that the two unions had exhausted all means lawful over a long stretch of time including a warning strike as means for getting their salaries paid.
“But clearly, government took their maturity and patience for granted. What government failed to realise was that it was not only imperilling the tranquillity in the university education environment, it was acting in violation of the constitution which says no citizen should be discriminated against!
“If government and the police are proud law breakers, what moral justification do they have to expect others to be of good behaviour,” he asked.
