Protesters under the aegis of the Nigeria Labour Congress in Oyo State have descended on civil servants and beaten them mercilessly for defying the ongoing strike in the state and resuming to their various offices.
The protesting NLC members are drawn from various ministries, which include judiciary, parastatals and other agencies.
The civil servants were beaten up by the protesters, under the watch of some labour leaders, disrupting activities in government offices for several hours and locking some in their offices.
The ongoing protest by the NLC began on Monday, following their demands for payment of leave bonus, payment of gratuities to retirees who have been stagnated since the year 2021 and release of promotion letters for 2021 and 2022.
The aggrieved labour members blocked the entrance to the government secretariat in the state for the second time over the failure of Governor Seyi Makinde to meet and dialogue with them.
Their demands include payment of their deductions, and allowances, among other struggles, since the inauguration of the governor in 2019.
While some protesters stormed the entrance of the state secretariat, some male members of the union were assigned to sack offices within the secretariat, chasing out civil servants to join the protest by force.
The protesters, who carried sticks sang songs and disrupted official duties which also affected vehicular movement.
A victim of the harassment, Dare Olaniyan, sustained injuries when he was manhandled by the protesters.
In a chat with Vanguard, Olaniyan, a staff of the Ministry of Information and Orientation, said he was beaten by some of the protesters, despite identifying himself with them.
He said: “I came inside the Secretariat premises to pick up my belongings, in the office. All attempts to explain this to the protesters fell on deaf ears, as they launched an attack on me, for no just cause.
“But rather than settling the issue amicably, the NLC members decided to go physical, engaging me and others with me in a fight.”
It took the intervention of the Executive Assistant to the Governor on Security, CP Sunday Odukoya (retd) to stop them immediately.
Mr Odukoya, who frowned at the development, said: “Beating civil servants in the name of protest is against the law. You must desist from this act henceforth.”
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