Protesting Sacked Kwara Teachers Arrested For Breaking COVID-19 Protocols, Disturbing Public Peace

The teachers

Six of the 2,414 sacked teachers have been arrested by the Kwara State Police Command for allegedly flouting COVID-19 protocols and disturbing public peace during a protest at the State Government House in Ilorin on Wednesday.

The State Universal Basic Education Board teachers, known as ‘Sunset Workers’ employed in the twilight of former Governor Abdulfattah Ahmed’s administration in February 2019, were sacked by Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq in December 2020.

Following their disengagement, the government placed advertisement for the employment of 2,701 teachers in its basic schools.

However, the sacked teachers, who had been protesting since last week Wednesday, demanded automatic slots.

According to them, they have been in the state government employ for about two years before their sacking, adding that they have requisite qualifications that made them suitable for the job.

However, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Ajayi Okasanmi, in a statement, said six of the teachers had been arrested.

He said, “This offence was committed in the process of an alleged protest by a group, called the ‘Sunset’ teachers in the Ilorin metropolis.

“Not only did they run foul of the COVID-19 guidelines, they also in their multitude blocked the popular Ahmadu Bello Way, Ilorin, thereby preventing lawful users of the road of their rights of passage by disturbing the public peace, which is in contravention of Section 113 of the Penal Code.”