Kunle ADEL;ABU
After about 2 weeks of keeping vigil on the Ikorordu main campus of the Lagos State Polytechnic to press home their demands, police, early morning on Thursday, July 11,2019 ,swooped on the striking staff members of the institution and arrested 38 of them.
They were later arraigned at the Magistrate court sitting at Ebute-Metta on 4-count charges and were granted bails but had to be remanded at the KIirikiri when they were unable to meet the conditions for their bails.
Among the 27 men and 11 women arrested members of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Polytechnics (SSANIP), Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) and some members of Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) were Olayinka Uthman, Funmi Tifase, Biodun Ayanda, Samuel Oluseye, Fatai Ibuowo and Joseph Ishola.
It was gathered that they were arrested over alleged conspiracy, breach of the peace, unlawful assembly and threat of violence.
According to the union leaders, the police claimed that they have an executive order to carry out the arrest from the government.
Some union leaders, who escaped arrest by whisker, told THE IMPACT that the police stormed their peaceful assemblage and arrested their members.
It was stated that the police swooped on the protesters around 1am on that Thursday to effect the arrest of the staff members.
Soji, one of the union chieftains, stated that the arrested workers were first taken to the Shagamu road police station in Ikorodu and later transferred to Panti, Yaba, for interrogations.
The prosecutor told the court that the defendants committed the offences on July 10, 2019, between 9.30a.m and 6.00p.m., at 1st Gate, via Odonguyan, Sagamu Road, Ikorodu.
It was alleged that the defendants conducted themselves in a manner likely to cause breach of the peace in the school premises by disrupting academic activities and engaging in riot.
According to the prosecutor, the alleged offences contravened Sections 44, 49, 56, 168, 411 and 412 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
Granting the 38 defendants/protesting staff bails in the sum of N50,000 each with two sureties each, the Magistrate added that the sureties must be employees of the Lagos State Government on grade level 12 and above.
He added that the defendants must sign an undertaking to behave well during trial of the case.
The matter was adjourned until September 2, 2019, for trial.
The striking LASPOTECH staff members, who had been keeping vigil on the institution’s campus in Ikorodu, had on Monday, July 8, 2019, rejected the Assembly’s plea to suspend their strike action in other to allow the students to write their examinations which is scheduled to commence on Monday, July 15, 2019.
The union rejected the lawmakers’ plea on the ground that none of their demands was considered in their recommendations read to all the parties at the meeting held at the Assembly Complex.
The management of the Lagos State Polytechnic was yet to issue any statement on the arrested staff members as at the time of going to the press.
