...Extort cash Ranging between #130,000 to #300,000 without Receipt
Alarm has been raised
concerning the recent strings of incidents where masked armed men in
collaboration with Environmental Health workers barge into schools within
Ogidi, Nkpor, Enekwasumpu Obosi communities in Idemili North Local Government
Area (INLGA) to abduct teachers under the guise of enforcing fu
According to the excerpts from
'Kulele Zone phone-in Wazobia FM radio programme anchored by a radio presenter,
Akwugo Toochi', ''our reporter gathered that
those abducted teachers, principals or proprietors after being subjected
to inhuman treatment and humiliation were further required to bail themselves
with the cash sum of 300,000 to 350,000 naira.
The radio presenter brought up
the issue for discussion because of the insecurity concerns facing different
parts of the country saying that it could be another form of kidnapping because
she was not aware of Governor Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra State setting up any task force on fumigation for schools particularly at INLGA.
"Even if for any reason
the State Government sent the taskforce with the Health workers, why should
they cover their face, use brute force and storm school premises where minors
and children are learning to terrorize them.
"Armed men should not be
seen brandishing their rifles inside the school premises. It brings fear and
panic which is traumatizing and dangerous to the mental health of the children.
An eyewitness who participated
in the radio program via phone said that she saw when the team of masked armed
men stormed St Joseph Catholic School, Enekwasumpu.
According to her, the St Joseph
Catholic School security guard tried to resist them but they overpowered him
hitting him with the butt of the rifle and tied him. The masked men went further
to arrest and force the teachers into the security van which left children
scampering for safety, even those of us at the street took cover because of the
fierce looking masked operatives. It was later we learnt that they came with
health workers from Idemili North Health Authority to demand for fumigation
Levy".
Another participant who phoned
in said that the same group came to another school at Ogidi where her
neighbor's children were schooling to abduct their teachers which made her
neighbor withold her children from going to school till further notice with the
fear that if they could not see a teacher to arrest, they might start arresting
school children for bail or ransom.
Another victim(name withheld)
who spoke to the our reporter anonymously also alleged that the same daredevil
group came to their school at Ogidi in company of INLGA Environmental Health
workers to whisk away virtually all the teachers within the school premises
without any official notice or demands living the pupils without their teachers
and caregivers.
She said that the Health
workers further extorted the cash sum of over 100,000 naira from the school
proprietor without receipt or State Government's remittal account number after
much humiliation in the hands of suspected vigilante operatives working for the
Environmental health workers.
"As soon as I opened the
gate a team of armed men on mask with a Vigilante vehicle, suspected to be
special force a.k.a Ebubeagu started harassing us saying they were sent by the
INLGA Environmental health to come and arrest all the teachers present in my
school.
"I asked them what offence
we committed to warrant such humiliation. They said that I locked the gate
against them.
"They forcefully pushed
every staff of my school into the security van leaving the school children
scampering for safety without any caregiver.
"They did not allow us to
make any calls. It was when their vehicle could not contain all my staff that
they reluctantly allowed two of our staff to stay behind in the school
"Getting to the INLGA
Health Authority adjacent to the INLGA secretariat, Ogidi. All our teachers
were forced to remove our shoes and sit on the bare floor like common
criminals".
"After hours of detention
with the safety of the nursery and primary school children hanging in the
balance, our school proprietor came to bail us from one Madam Ebere, who said
she was the Chief Taskforce of the INLGA Environmental Health after much
negotiations from about #350,000, she accepted to collect #130,000 which was
the last money in the proprietor’s account. We requested for receipt or account
number for remittal but they insisted we withdrew cash from POS to bail
ourselves" she said.
Meanwhile, she said that while
they were still in detention at the Environmental Health Authority, Ogidi
another group of teachers from another school from Obosi were also arrested and
brought in by the same team of masked AVS in collaboration with the health
workers and were also subjected to the same inhuman treatment they passed
through.
"Our school is Government
approved. We are law abiding and we pay all revenues and ensure we contribute
our quota or tax payment because we support the good works of our Solution Governor,
Prof Charles Soludo."
"Even, if they made any
other requests for payment and issued us demand notice, we would have looked
into that through our association to know the ones to pay in order to checkmate
exploitation or multiple taxation and gotten back to them amicably but there
was nothing like demand notice for anything only to use brute force to
dehumanize and exploit unsuspecting citizens, “she said.
However, our reporter contacted
the Director, Environmental Health Department, BINLGA, Mrs. Beatrice Anene
several times on phone to get her reaction but she made light of it, refused to
make any serious statement after acknowledging that she was very much aware of
the terrible incident of intimidation, manhandling and extortion involving her
office and staff.
According to Mrs. Anene, Yes I
am aware of the incident involving my staff and some schools. Ask the school
what they did. I will send you the phone number of the person you will call to
get any response you want".
Moreover, when our reporter
contacted the person, he refused making any comments but rather frowned at the
fact that the Director of Environmental Health gave out his phone number
without informing him and switched off his phone.
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