The
Department of State Security Service (DSS), has been threatened with a
lawsuit by the Federal Government Girls College Calabar for allegedly
attacking and brutalising its teachers and staff.
School staff allagedly brutalized by DSS
The Federal Government Girls College Calabar has threatened to sue
the State Security Service, SSS, for allegedly attacking and brutalising
its teachers and staff.
A lawyer representing the school, Baba Isa, said in a statement
that a female relative of one of the school’s SS3 students, led the
attack because one of the teachers flogged the student for flouting the
school’s rules.
Narrating how it all started the lawyer said, “Mr Owai Owai, a
Civic Education teacher of over 17 years standing came to class that
fateful Thursday (last week) morning and found a junior student sweeping
the class of the SS3 students when classes was going on in the class of
the junior, against the school rules that junior students should not be
found sweeping the classes of seniors during school periods”.
“Mr Owai was able to fish out about 10 seniors who asked the
juniors to sweep their class during school period contrary to school
regulations. He punished the seniors by flogging them on their palms,
two strokes of the cane each.
“One of the seniors, Grace Loveth Asuquo, grabbed the teacher
by the collar of his shirt, protesting her flogging. The teacher was
shocked and gave her more strokes for her action. She told the teacher
in front of the students that her parents will burn down the school
today and stormed out of the class.”
According to the lawyer, Mr. Owai continued teaching, unknown to
him that Grace has called her mum, who called her sister that is a SSS
operative.
“Half way through the class, the student’s mum, her aunt who is
a DSS operative and another man, stormed the class, gestapo-style, took
the teacher’s canes and flogged him mercilessly before his alarmed
students.
“When the canes broke from the trashing of hapless Mr Owai,
they descended on his frail frame and rained torrents of blows and kicks
on him. The screams of the students alerted the teachers who came to
the rescue.
Mr. Isa said the student’s SSS operative aunt called for
reinforcement and three Hilux load of SSS operatives stormed the school.
“The operatives went berserk and started shooting sporadically
and hitting teachers with anything they could find: blows, kicks,
stones, gun butts! Several teachers sustained injuries from the assault
and battery.
“Some ran into adjoining bushes and farms to save their lives.
Some of the teachers started taking pictures and videoing. When the DSS
operatives found out, they went after them, forcefully collecting their
phones and further brutalising them. Phones, monies, glasses and other
valuables were taken away by the operatives.
“When they were driving out, they found the gate locked. They
beat up the security men and shut the padlock open! They abducted the
student, Grace Loveth Asuquo and left the school premises.”
The lawyer said the entire staff and students of Federal Government
Girls College community are traumatized and frightened adding that “classes didn’t hold on Friday, February 3rd because of this”.
The State Security Service, which has not appointed a spokesperson,
could not be reached for this story. The management and staff of the
school, said the lawyer in the statement, is demanding, the following:
“1 A written public apology from DSS published on NTA, Radio
Nigeria and 4 national dailies. 2. An oral apology given at the Assembly
Ground before staff and students. 3. Outright dismissal and prosecution
of the operatives involved in this barbaric act.
4. To foot the hospital bills of all staff who sustained
injuries during the assault. 5. To return/pay for all lost or damaged
items like phones, monies, glasses, etc 6. Replace the damaged school
gate 7. Pay a 10 million naira compensation to the school”.
The lawyer said the staff have instructed him to file a suit in a
court of competent jurisdiction to seek for redress and damages.
“We must all wail against the excesses of our law enforcement
agents. Their duty is to protect us and not to intimidate us. A formal
petition has been lodged with the appropriate authorities. But there is
something we can do here: let’s stand up and shout against this barbaric
intimidation by the DSS, if we don’t stand up now, there might be no
one left to stand tomorrow,” added the counsel.
Source: Premium Times
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