…TUC accuses
DSS of exposing workers to security risk
Following alleged invasion of the Ekiti State House
of Assembly and subsequent arrests of four lawmakers and appointees of the
state Governor, Ayodele Fayose, by Department of State Services (DSS), the Nigerian
Bar Association (NBA) and the organised labour have told President Muhammadu Buhari
to drop the toga of dictatorship for the survival of Nigerian
democracy .
A statement by NBA Chairman, Dr. Foluke Dada, in
Ado Ekiti day said the body views
the arrest and detention by the DSS as a sharp departure from the tenets of democracy
and a clear contravention of the law setting up the Institution.
“Above
all, the arrest is a clear contravention of the Constitution of
the Federal Republic of Nigeria which the DSS is
established to uphold
at all times when discharging their duties.
“The
NBA, mindful of the current fight against corruption, therefore calls upon
the authorities involved to uphold the rule of law.
Hence, the Bar unequivocally condemns the forced entry into the hallowed
chambers of the state House of Assembly and the arbitrary arrest of the lawmakers.
“The
state NBA, while condemning the commando style of the DSS, asks for the
immediate disclosure of the whereabouts
of the lawmakers and the offences upon which they
were arrested be made public,” NBA said.
The Chairman of Trade Union Congress (TUC) in Ekiti, Odunayo Adesoye,described as a
dangerous trend that could expose workers of the state civil service to serious
security risk.
He said workers in the state are now apprehensive of
what could happen at their duty posts due to anxiety created by the alleged invasion
of the assembly by security agents.
Branding the action as ‘brutish and barbaric’,
Adesoye said the arrests of these top government officials without any formal
invitation was a flagrant infringement on their fundamental rights
as enunciated
in the United Nations human rights charter .
Adesoye wondered why innocent Nigerians were being
clamped into detention by DSS, while the criminals were having a field day terrorizing
and killing citizens on daily basis.
“Nigeria
is a civilized country, and I think it has gone beyond the level of this
barbarism displayed by DSS. This is pure harassment of innocent Nigerians. As
we speak now, workers are reporting to work with anxiety that there could be
invasion of their premises.
“The
mere fact that the DSS had invaded the assembly posed serious threat to
workers, because I learnt that people had to run for their lives. What
if our members had died during the stampede?
“I
think it is within the purview of the DSS to protect human rights, so I will
advise that they toe the line of civility and stop being partisan. If they have
anything to confirm from these government
officials, I think they have to be properly invited
.
“We
are sounding a note of warning that we would challenge the DSS
should anything happen to any worker during the
course of arresting officials of the state government,” he said.
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