News

ASUU decries DSS detention of Bauchi chapter chairman

Published

6 years ago

November 11, 2018

The Academic Staff Union of Universities chapters of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University and Bauchi State University , Gadau , have decried the detention of ATBU chapter chairman , Dr. Adamu Babayo , by the Department of State Services .
The vice chairman of the association , Dr . Ibrahim Maina , condemned the action at a joint press conference on Sunday in Bauchi .

Maina alleged that Babayo was detained by the DSS operatives on Sunday , when he was invited to the department’ s headquarters in Bauchi .

He said : “ The ASUU chairman, Adamu Babayo , was invited through a Short Service Message ( SMS ) which is not a formal way of invitation .

“ On Friday, he received a text message requesting him to report to the DSS office in Bauchi on Sunday . He went to the office , alongside some of the executives of the association .

“ The DSS operatives requested other members of his entourage to leave and detained him in their office , ” Maina said .
Maina said that the action was a violation of fundamental human rights and urged the DSS to explain the reasons behind the arrest .

“ Let them explain to us why he was detained . That will give us the idea of what needs to be done .

“ If the detention is in connection with the ongoing strike , it is a nationwide strike embarked on by the universities in the country and it ’ s not a personal problem .

“ What wrong have we done by pressing for our rights through the strike ?” he queried .

Maina maintained that industrial action is the rights of a worker as enshrined in the Civil Service Act , which enables workers to press home their demands .

However , a DSS official who spoke on condition of anonymity denied the allegation, insisting that Babayo was not detained but invited to answer some questions .

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that ASUU had , on November 5 , embarked on an indefinite strike to press for implementation of the agreement reached with the Federal Government in 2017 .

( NAN )