The state government and the Kaduna State Police Command have issued a stern warning to members of the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) to desist from any illegal act which violates the law or is capable of infringing on peace in or around the state.
The State Commissioner of Police, Agyole Abeh, while addressing press men on Wednesday warned against the further unlawful assembly, lawlessness, incitement, and acts capable of breaching the peace across the state, adding that such acts by the striking teachers would be dealt with decisively.
The word of warning came on the heels of a planned protest billed for Thursday by the NUT and Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), over the sack of more than 21,000 teachers who failed a competency test in June last year.
The spokesman for the state government, Samuel Aruwan, hinted that an arrest warrant had already been secured from the court which the government will not hesitate to use should any union member protest.
He clarified that government has proposed a package to assist the post-service transition of disengaged public servants, adding that there was no way to even contemplate retaining teachers who had displayed incompetence in discharging their responsibilities.
Aruwan noted that the same NLC and NUT officials who were part of the committee that supervised the competency test, are among those planning to stage a protest.
“The last time the NLC and NUT organised what they referred to as peaceful rally, turned to attacks on the Kaduna State House of Assembly which resulted in the destruction of public property in addition to engaging in an unlawful assembly and other violations of the Penal Code of Kaduna State. The Attorney-General of the state has filed criminal complaints and has obtained bench warrants for the arrest of those involved in the fomenting the chaos of Wednesday, 8th November 2017," Aruwan stated.
“Government is committed to discharging its responsibility of protecting the lives, property of the citizens of Kaduna State, and will take firm actions against any persons or group that seek to undermine this. The security agencies have already made it clear that nobody or group will be allowed to repeat those messy incidents or threaten law and order in Kaduna State in the guise of a march," Aruwan added.
