Ministry of Defence civilian staff shut down Army Headquarters to protest brutalisation
The Joint Executive Council, representing civilian staff members of the Ministry of Defence, has taken action by closing down the ministry’s headquarters in Abuja due to reported incidents of brutalisation by soldiers against their colleagues.
Didam Joel, President of the Council, disclosed that a civilian staff member has been held in military detention for a month, despite not being a member of the military.
Additionally, an assistant director from the ministry, stationed at Command Secondary School in Ojo, Lagos, was reportedly subjected to brutal treatment without adherence to civil service regulations.
The protest unfolded with Army civilians demonstrating outside the Defence Headquarters in Abuja on Monday.
The Joint Executive Council comprises all affiliate unions representing civilian staff employed within the Ministry of Defence.
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While an official statement from the Army is awaited to address the allegations, a representative from the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria shared that a civilian staff member, Ambrose Akhigbe, was allegedly brutalized by a private soldier, led by Lt. Akubor, on Monday.
Akhigbe is currently hospitalised following the incident.
He also alleged that a laboratory scientist in the Naval Reference Hospital, at Navy Town, Ojo, Lagos, was “brutally killed” barely two months.
“We were at the heat of it, the person controlling the current crop of soldiers in all command schools in Lagos including some civilian PSOs, are backing these shameful acts of killing MOD staff at duty posts.
“We therefore demand the complete overhaul of the command schools by returning the schools to their original structure of standard school system, to be headed by professional education officers in the Ministry of Defence and they can only provide security if they wish.
“The management of MOD should be aware that we are not backing down on this as we don’t know who is next,” the ASCSN official said.