TheCable

The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has called on the federal government to ban security agencies from using live ammunition while handling public protest.

Commenting on the recent killings of two students of the University of Portharcourt (UNIPORT) who participated in protests staged by their colleagues, NLC accused security agencies of excesses.

It also demanded full investigation into the incident, and called on the government to suspend the vice-chancellor of UNIPORT for “inviting the police to treat students like armed robbers”.

The NLC also lamented over the increase in the number of schools closed as a result of protest, accusing vice-chancellors of high-handedness.

“The federal government should ban the use of the army, special anti-robbery squad (SARS) and use of live ammunition in handling public protests and assembly in Nigeria,” Joe Ajaero, president of a faction of NLC, said in a statement.

“Congress is aghast that a vice-chancellor of a university in a democracy could deploy the services of SARS in trying to control innocent protesting students. We are forced to request explanation why the vice chancellor felt that the students were thieves or robbers that necessitated his procuring and deploying the SARS operatives against his own students?

“It portends great danger for Nigerian workers, popular democratic platforms and peoples as it unwittingly passes death sentence on persons involved in dissent or peaceful protest. It discourages protests and makes it a fearful exercise thus has the capacity of breeding fear and encouraging the emergence of despots at all levels of governance.

“The profusion of intolerance to dissent and protest against obvious negative policies of governments and their institutions is truly frightening. All around the nation, we have observed the shooting of innocent protesters by the security agencies without provocation and this is not abating.

“As a result of this, congress demands that: the federal government sets up a visitation panel to all the universities to look at the infrastructural situation in view of finding lasting solution and halting the decay.

“That the federal government reviews its policies to make it more inclusive in favour of the masses which it seems to have abdicated its responsibilities to in recent times.

“Vice-chancellors who are in the habit of closing down their Universities at the slightest protest be sanctioned and called to order to avoid wasting resources both financially and in man hours.

“In the case of the University of Portharcourt, the vice-chancellor should be immediately suspended if that has not happened while thorough investigations are carried out to unravel the remote ideas behind the killings.

“Finally we demand a full statement from the federal Government guaranteeing the citizenry the exercise of their various freedoms as enshrined in the Constitution and in the various international charters especially the Universal declaration of Human and peoples’ rights.

“If nothing is done to sanction the vice-chancellor and fish out the killer cops, Nigerian workers will be forced to take necessary and appropriate steps to assist the government protect her citizens.”