Get Guardian on GoogleThe Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) has condemned the deployment of armed policemen to King’s College, Lagos, accusing the police and the King’s College Old Boys Association (KCOBA) of undermining ongoing negotiations over the proposed concession of the institution.
The union, in a statement signed by its National President, Shehu Mohammed, and General-Secretary, Joshua Apebo, said the incident occurred less than 24 hours after a high-level meeting involving the Minister of Education, the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) and ASCSN had reached an understanding on the contentious concession issue.
ASCSN said armed policemen, allegedly led by the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, stormed the school premises at about 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday, in what it described as a “commando-style operation.”
According to the union, the security personnel used a generating set to gain access through the padlocked gates and fired shots into the air, while workers and parents were allegedly assaulted and pushed to the ground.
It further alleged that a child of a protesting parent was arrested and that several of its members sustained injuries and were receiving medical attention.
The union said the operation was aimed at granting KCOBA access to the school for a press engagement, describing the development as an attack on workers’ rights and an unacceptable use of force in an industrial dispute.
ASCSN said the timing of the incident was particularly disturbing, given that dialogue between the Federal Ministry of Education, TUC and the union was ongoing.
“At the very moment when dialogue and lawful processes were underway, state security forces were deployed to sabotage trust, undermine negotiations, and intimidate workers,” the union said.
The association demanded the immediate withdrawal of all police personnel from King’s College, arguing that the Nigeria Police Force should not be used to advance private interests or circumvent due process.
It also accused KCOBA and the police of eroding confidence in the ongoing engagement with labour, saying the incident had “effectively undermined and stalled” understandings reached between the Federal Ministry of Education, TUC and ASCSN.
The union maintained that education officers were exercising their right to resist what it described as the “backdoor commercialisation” of a historic national institution.
It commended workers and parents who, according to it, stood their ground in defence of public education, stressing that it would not be intimidated into abandoning its position.
ASCSN warned that continued provocation and the use of force in place of dialogue would attract what it called “decisive and lawful resistance” from the union.
