Why We Blocked NASU, SSANU Members From Leaving Protest Venue – Police

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has explained why its operatives restricted members of the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) from leaving the protest at Unity Fountain in Abuja.

There were reports that the protesters who stormed the Unity Fountain in the early hours of Thursday to protest four-month withheld salaries, were restricted from marching to the Federal Ministries of Education and Labour and Employment.

According to the General Secretary of NASU, Peters Adeyemi, who spoke with journalists at the protest ground, the unions planned to present letters to both ministries.

Clarifying why they were restricted, the FCT Police Public Relations Officer, SP Josephine Adeh, said in a chat with DAILY POST, that it was an agreement between the unions and the command.

According to the PPRO, they agreed that the protest would only happen within the Unity Fountain to avoid going into the street to cause lawlessness.

She said, “They wrote to protest, but it was agreed that it will be within the unity fountain where representatives of each association will address the press and subsequently take their complaints on behalf of others to the appropriate authorities without entering the streets, thereby causing lawlessness.”