Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies (SSAEAC) has called on the Inspector General of Police (IG) to as a matter of urgency intervene in the invasion of? office of Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) and its beating of the workers? by the soldiers at Afara in Umuahia, Abia state.
SSAEAC’s president, Comrade Bede Opara, while briefing newsmen of the activities of soldiers at their office in Umuahia also called on the Chief of Army Staff to investigate the invasion of PHCN office by armed soldiers that stormed the PHCN office in Umuahia to arrest and detain one of their staff in an unknown destination after beating up other member s of staff on duty.
“We want the Inspector General of Police to urgently investigate the invasion of our office by armed soldiers on Thursday morning to arrest and detain one of our staff who was later taken to an unknown destination after beating up other member of staff on duty post”
“We are not comfortable with military invading our offices and beating up our members on duty post and the invaders going scot free. We are not at war”, he added.
According to Opara, the soldiers that took one of PHCN staff to an unknown destination “must be made to pay for the vehicle destroyed, else the workers will have no choice than to go to court to seek redress”.
He however said “We will not fold our arms to see soldiers beating our members without taking appropriate actions”
Meanwhile, the Branch Chairman of SSAEAC in Umuhiah, Comrade Anoru Celestine, while briefing newsmen on the embarrassment, said “Our workers were at their duty post when a group of soldiers stormed our office to beat up every worker on duty”.
“We tried at all costs to beg the soldiers not to molest our workers, but our pleas fell on deaf ears”
He however, said “We want the authorities to intervene in activities of soldiers interfering with our work so that the much needed uninterrupted power supply would be achieved”.