Jare OLUKOTUN
The Management of Lagos State Polytechnic, Ikorodu, which has been at loggerhead with its staff members for a while now, has denied any involvement in the arrest and subsequent trial of eight of the staff members of the institution contrary to what is being peddled in some quarters and on social media. The affected staff members are currently facing trial for allegedly assaulting JAMB officials last month.
Those arrested, who are members of the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU), Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Polytechnics (SSANIP) and Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), are Salami Olugbenga, Seye Ero-Phillips, Muinat Ogunbmbi-Ibrahim, Alawada Abimbola, Semiu Fasasi, Abiodun Awoyemi, Tobi Oremule and Ayanda Rauf
In a release by the Deputy Registrar (Information & Public Relations) of the institution, Mr Olanrewaju Kuye, the management stated that the suspects were invited by the police in connection with an assault on JAMB officials and the Polytechnc’s Director of ICT on Friday, March 29, 2019.
The release read thus:
“The Management of Lagos State Polytechnic is not in anyway connected to the arrest and subsequent trial of 8 staff members as it is currently being peddled by some people and a session of the media.
“To the best of the knowledge of LASPOTECH Management, the affected staff members that are currently facing trial were invited by the Nigeria Police for interrogation and charged to court in line with the dictates of the law.
“The suspects were alleged to be involved in assaulting with petrol, two officials of Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), and physically attacking and injuring the Polytechnic’s Director of ICT on Friday, 29th March, 2019, during the preparation for the JAMB CBT mock examination exercise in the Polytechnic.
“The general public could also recall that, the Registrar of JAMB, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, while reporting the readiness of his Board for the 2019 JAMB examination to the Honourable Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, on Monday, 1st April, 2019, lamented the attempt to set some of his officials ablaze at LASPOTECH centre and vowed to ensure justice is done.
“It would also be recalled that, the affected officials reported the assault at the Shagamu road police station, and the Nigeria police had since taken over the case.
“The story making rounds to smear the image of the Polytechnic’s Management is a calculated attempt to distract the general public from the heinous act.
“The ongoing trial is strictly between the Nigeria Police and the suspects. It has nothing to do with the ongoing trade dispute that is already being attended to by the Lagos State Government”.
THE IMPACT gathered that the arrested unionists were released on bail on Thursday and they are presently back to their families.
