Sumal Foods Protest: Arrest, Prosecute Policeman Who Shot Worker

Security/Crime

Sumal Foods Protest: Arrest, Prosecute Policeman Who Shot Worker – CDWR Tells Oyo CP

Reported by Ayooluwa Afolabi

Campaign for Democratic and Workers’ Rights, CDWR, has called on the Commissioner of Police, Oyo State, Ayodele Sonubi to arrest and prosecute police officers who fired gunshots that led to the death of a casual worker at Sumal Foods manufacturing company in Ibadan.

CDWR, while condemning the killing, advised the company to compensate the family of the deceased.

According to DAILY POST, Mr Bode, a staff of the company, was shot during a protest embarked upon by the workers on Monday.

CDWRD in a statement signed by Comrade Olusesan Rufus, National Chairperson, and Comrade Chinedu Bosah, National Secretary, also advised that the injured workers should be treated at the expense of the company and be adequately compensated.

The group appealed to the police authorities to arrest and prosecute police officers involved in the killing and brutalization of the workers.

“We demand justice and adequate compensation for the families of the dead.

“The injured workers should be treated at the expense of the company and be adequately compensated.

“We also call for the arrest and prosecution of the police officers involved in the killing and brutalization of the workers.

“The management of Sumal has reportedly justified the deployment of the police stating that it was necessitated by the protest turning into violence.

This is a blatant lie!

“The fact is that the company’s management, in a bid to protect its super profit, has the history of relying on the instrumentality of the state (police, judiciary, DSS and ministry of labour) to intimidate, harass and persecute workers and activists who openly oppose the company’s anti-labour practices like casualization or demand better pay and decent working conditions.

“We strongly believe that the circumstances surrounding the killing and brutalization of the protesting workers, including the claim that the Federal Government has since last year granted the organized private sector a tax waiver with a directive that the money saved from such is used to provide palliatives to their employees, deserve to be given a thorough investigation.

“It is in the light of this we call for an immediate intervention of state leaderships of both the NLC and the TUC to ensure that all the workers arrested and currently in detention are released and concerns of the generality of workers in the company, including several cases of anti-workers and indecent labour practices are adequately investigated and addressed,” the group stated.