A two-day protest by factory workers at Sumal Foods Limited, Ibadan, Oyo State, has left one of the protesters dead, two others injured and some properties destroyed.

Sumal Foods, with factories located in Oluyole extension, Ring Road Ibadan, Oyo State, produces Yale biscuits and a range of other snacks.

On Monday, scores of casual workers at the company’s ‘Yale 3’ branch in Ibadan, had mobilised to protest unfair labour practices, among other issues. As a result, they declined to work the night shift and suspended production in nine factories.

But, according to a witness who identified himself as Jelili Ismail, while the workers were peacefully expressing their grievances against the company, heavily armed police officers fired tear gas canisters and gunshots at the crowd. The police shootings reportedly killed one protester and injured two others.

“With tears in their eyes, the workers rushed their injured colleagues to a nearby hospital, lifted the corpse and took it to the company’s headquarters at Town Planning, Ring Road, on a motorcycle.

“When they arrived at the headquarters, they found that more armed police officers had been stationed at the premises. The corpse was deposited inside the company,” he said.

Some of the aggrieved workers spoke to PREMIUM TIMES but chose to be anonymous for fear of being victimised.

The first protester claimed that Sumal Foods allegedly withheld palliatives offered to them by the federal government for six months.

He alleged that the federal government gave all workers in both private and public organisations palliatives to cushion the effect of hardship in February and that the organisation refused to give theirs to them.

He claimed that the company posted an internal memorandum denying them membership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), as well as the right to palliatives.

“They said we are not under TUC and NLC, and that we are on our own. At the same time, they added 14 per cent tax to our salary,” he said.

Buttressing the points raised by the first respondent, another factory worker, whose name is withheld, said: “They told us that we were in the private sector (Sumal) and not the government. They offered to add 200 naira to our salary and we refused. The salary cannot even buy two congos of rice and garri,” he said.

Another aggrieved worker, speaking on what transpired on day one of the protests, said heavily armed police officers dispersed the crowd using tear gas and also fired gunshots into the air.

He stated that it was during the confusion that ensued that the deceased was hit by a bullet. He said the company has refused to release the corpse.

Police confirm death

Meanwhile, the Oyo State Police Command, on Tuesday, the second day of the protest, confirmed that the protest that rocked one of the factories belonging to Sumal Foods, Oluyole extension, Ibadan on Monday, turned violent.

“One death was recorded during the violent protest,” the police said in a statement by the state Police Public Relations Officer, Adewale Osifeso.

The police also confirmed the arrest of 12 suspects in connection with the violent protest, stating that normalcy has returned to the affected area with the immediate deployment of the Command’s operational and tactical assets to prevent future recurrence.

The command said that preliminary investigation revealed that the protest was premised on a piece of widespread false information authored and peddled by some of the workers concerning the disbursement of palliative to all private-owned companies and firms in the country.

“Their grouse, however, was that they were being denied the welfare package. Sadly, the protest was hijacked by criminal elements who forced their way into the factory, destroying vehicles and property worth millions of naira,” the statement said.

While the police also confirmed the arrest of 12 persons in connection with the protest, it was silent on the allegation that the deceased was killed when armed police personnel fired gunshots into the air to disperse the protesters.

“Furthermore, the CP has ordered that the entire case be taken up by the Homicide Department of the Criminal Investigation Department with the Deputy Commissioner of Police directly in charge of investigations,” Osifeso said.

Efforts to speak with officials of Sumal Foods Limited were unsuccessful as our correspondent was turned down by security operatives stationed at the company’s premises.

PT