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abujagirl
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Armed policemen used tear gas to disperse newly recruited 13,000 teachers who had converged at the Liberation Stadium, Elekahia, Port Harcourt, to pick up their employment letters from the Rivers State Government.
According to The Guardian, the police cited the failure of the state government to obtain permit as the reason for their action and later claimed that intelligence report had it that the teachers were gathered to protest against President Goodluck Jonathan.
Some of the 13,000 teachers had gathered inside the stadium as early as 7:30 a.m. and while they were awaiting officials of the Rivers State Ministry of Education to commence the issuance of their posting letters, a team of policemen stormed the stadium and asked everyone to leave. The fierce-looking policemen alleged that intelligence report at their disposal revealed that the gathering of the teachers was politically motivated.
Initially, some of the teachers refused to vacate the stadium but the policemen who came in about 11 police vans, started firing tear gas canister into the air. The smell of the tear gas forced the teachers to flee to Elekahia Housing Estate and Stadium Road, as the police cordoned off the stadium entrance.
Reacting to the attack, Dr. Richard Ofuru, Permanent secretary Rivers State Ministry of Education, said, "I am surprised, it is like when we have our inter-house in the stadium, it is purely a school affair, we don’t tell the police. Now, this is purely an administrative thing that is not political. I don’t see how we are going to invite the police. I mean, we have been using the stadium without inviting the police. There has been radio announcement for the past one week".
Mrs. Ibim Semenitari,Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communications, also reacted saying, "Rivers people need to fight and ensure that this reign of impunity must stop. According to her, it was clear that CP Mbu has an agenda to destroy Rivers State and Rivers people have to ensure that that does not happen".
"This is the impunity we have been saying about in Rivers State. And, it is clear to Rivers people that this is the action of retrogressive forces who are totally against development, because, it is the first time any government, whether state or federal is employing 13,000 teachers at once”
“These are people who have been unemployed. Nigeria is crying about unemployment, education system is in a mess and a government employs 13,00 teachers, trains them and wants to feed them into the system, and somebody chooses to treat this with levity and to tear gas the teachers and gives a very stupid excuse, saying that the teachers were there to protest against President Jonathan,” she added.
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