Soldiers serving in the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) Kaduna on Monday beat and arrested civilian staff of the Corporation who staged a peaceful protest against non-payment of their allowances.
The Monday protest by the civilian staff of DICON is the second of similar attempt to press home their demand for payment of their six-month Peculiar Allowance, Minimum wage arrears since 2019 and Promotion arrears for 2020, 2021 and 2022.
As they assembled for the protest around 8:00am at the Kakuri factory of the Corporation, the soldiers who were drafted by the management to prevent protest within the facility, pushed them away from the gate to the nearby Monday Market.
In the process, the soldiers who were armed to the tooth, beat up one of the protesters, who was using his mobile phone to record the scene while another protesting staff, identified as Bala, a civilian security man in the factory was arrested and taken into custody by the armed soldiers.
Speaking to journalists, the staff who also highlighted the lack of enrollment into the IPPIS scheme, said they were suffering in their service to Nigeria through DICON.
They demanded immediate payment of their full promotion arrears for 2020, 2021, and 2022 and their Peculiar Allowance to cushion the removal of fuel subsidy, among other demands.
They called on the Federal Government to intervene by directing the management of DICON to respond to their demands and stop victimizing staff members who voice their concerns regarding the mistreatment and denial of their rights.
When contacted, DICON Public Relations Officer, Musa Yakubu, responded: “Sorry sir, I’m not on ground thank you.”