In consonance with its avowed respect for fundamental human rights of citizens and favourable disposition to labour relations, the Nigerian Army has released the workers of Daewoo Engineering and Construction Nigeria Limited (DECN) who were arrested last night at the Train 7 project site in Bonny Island.
Kristina Reports reliably learnt that the General Officer Commanding (GOC), 6 Division, Nigerian Army, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Major General Olufemi Oluyede ordered their release after interrogating the workers where they were detained at a holding centre in Bori Camp, Port Harcourt.
An official of one of the security agencies in Bonny LGA confirmed to Kristina Reports that the workers were arrested on the Train 7 facility at about midnight on Friday, October 7, 2022, and moved to Bori Camp in Port Harcourt in the morning of Saturday, 08 October 2022.
A military source, who preferred anonymity, hinted Kristina Reports that Maj. Gen, Oluyede ordered their release in line with the Nigerian Army’s stance on adherence to international best practices in managing security situations around industrial environments.
The source further revealed the GOC took the decision on the strength of the Army’s established protocol of neutrality in handling labour-related crisis, saying “you know us, we (Nigerian Army) cannot be part of anything that violates the rights and wellbeing of law-abiding workers”.
President of the National Association of Plant Operators (NAPO), Harold Benstowe, in a chat with Kristina Reports on Saturday, October 8, 2022 at the Coal Beach, Bonny, when he led hundreds of workers to receive their released colleagues, commended the GOC for the good gesture.
Demanding that the Army high command brings to book the officers that carried out the raid on the workers, Benstowe praised Maj. Gen. Olufemi Oluyede and the Nigerian Army for respecting the rights of Nigerian workers, calling on other security agencies to emulate the laudable gesture.
The DECN workers have been on a month-long protest for improved working conditions on the Train 7 project which has led to a loss of almost 200 manhours on the project timeline.
Upon arrival at the Coal Beach, Bonny, some of the released workers displayed to Kristina Reports the injuries they sustained from torture allegedly inflicted on them by the soldiers that arrested them.
The NAPO President General called on the Nigerian Army to ensure that their operatives responsible for this action, which according to him infringes on the right to personal dignity and freedom from torture and inhuman treatment guaranteed under the Nigerian Constitution and the United Nations Charter on Human and Peoples Rights to which Nigeria is a signatory, be brought to book.
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