IAR&T crisis: Police arrest four protesting workers

Police yesterday arrested four of the protesting workers of the Institute of Agricultural Research and Training, I.A.R&T, Apata- Ganga, Ibadan, Oyo State.
Workers of I.A.R&T, which is one of the institutes under the administrative control of the Obafemi Awolowo University, OAU, Ile-Ife, have been on strike in the last 11 months.
Those arrested by the police from the Apata Police Divisional Headquarters are Comrade Tunde Oladiji, the Treasurer of the Non-Academic Staff Union, NASU, in Oyo State, Mr. Dele Omotayo and others simply identified as David and Timothy.
However, a source at the Apata police station said the people were not arrested, but invited by the police to make them see reason why they should not vandalise government property in the course of their protest.
The source added that the I.A.R&T staff would be taken to the State Criminal Investigation Department, SCID, at Iyanganku, Ibadan, where a peace meeting would be held with the leaders of various staff unions of the institute.
“We have been managing this I.A.R&T crisis for about 11 months now, and we have not arrested any of the workers. But we want them to realise that they don’t have any right to vandalise government property just because they are protesting,” the source said.
It was gathered that the workers had converged on the main entrance of the institute to protest the alleged refusal of the OAU Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Tale Omole, to implement the disciplinary actions recommended by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development against the Executive Director of the institute, Prof. Benjamin Ogunbodede.
Speaking with journalists on the development, the Chairman of the I.A.R&T branch of NASU, Comrade Femi Emmanuel Oladeinde, said it was unfortunate that Ogunbodede could use the police to disrupt the peaceful protest.
He also alleged that police from the Apata Divisional Police Headquarters used tear gas to disperse the protesting workers.
But speaking with journalists in a telephone interview, Ogunbodede said he did not invite the police, but added that police were at the scene to perform their lawful duty.
He called on the workers to allow normalcy to return to the country’s foremost agricultural research institute.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

ragedy as hungry dog kills 4-month-old baby

Image
   at the week­end in Asaba, Delta State when a hungry dog attacked and killed a four-month-old baby boy. Although, some people tired in vain to rescue the baby alive, the boy died few minutes thereafter. His mother was conveying the dog, the little child and her nanny in her car. The woman simply identi­fied as Mrs Akowe, stopped at a supermarket, leaving the nanny, the child and the dog in the car. The dog started behaving funny and started eating up the child, simply called Chinonso. The helpless nanny ran into the supermarket to alert the mother. The madam immedi­ately raised the alarm, but be­fore help could come, the dog had already eaten up part of the baby’s stomach. The two security guards in the supermarket succeeded in killing the dog while the baby was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was confirmed dead. An eyewitness, George Ojeogwu, said: “I was in the supermarket on Okpanam Road when the dog bit the owner’s child to death. I learnt that th...
Read more

Police arrest cow, chairs, as boy, 13, dies in Ota carnival violence

Image
            There was tension at the Oruba quarters in Ota, Ogun State, Saturday morning, as a 13-year-old-boy was stabbed to death during a carnival which turned violent. Several people, including old women and men have been arrested by the Sango Ota divisional police station in connection with the incident. There was, however, a mild drama as policemen also arrested the cow and chairs bought for the carnival. An eyewitness, who pleaded anonymity, said that the problem started on Friday night when Oruba youths organised a pre-carnival before the Saturday event. Trouble started when a street urchin in the area, accused a 13-year-old boy of stepping on his feet. The deceased, identified as Azeez, had hardly said a word when the urchin allegedly broke a bottle, stabbed him in the neck and ran away. The incident brought a temporary halt to the carnival as the reveller tried to assist the injured boy who died on a bike ...
Read more

UK Government Clears Bishop Oyedepo Of N3.4Bn Charity Fraud, Allowed Back Into UK

The UK Charity Commission, has absolved Winners Chapel International of complicity in the alleged misappropriation of N3.4bn charity funds. In a recently published report, the agency said Winners Chapel International, also known as World Mission Agency, showed “good financial controls” for an organisation of its size. While maintaining that the “ employment of an individual who was related to the founder” generated a potential conflict, the Commission said it was satisfied with the decision of the trustees in respect of the employment. “Our review of the charity’s financial information identified minor discrepancies. However, the trustees were able to explain and resolve these. We found no evidence that N3.4bn or any other amount had been misappropriated. “We were satisfied the charity could demonstrate good financial controls appropriate for a large and expanding charity”, said the report. The Commission further said in...
Read more