Soldiers assault DICON staffs protesting non-payment in Kaduna

At the main entrance of the Defense Industries Corporation of Nigeria in Kaduna State, soldiers are allegedly responsible for attacking one of the demonstrators.

Newsmen learned that the demonstrators on Monday brought placards to air their complaints about the failure to pay their 2019 minimum wage arrears while shouting songs of unity.

The demonstrators demanded, among other things, the payment of their special allowance to ease the loss of fuel subsidy. They also expressed dissatisfaction over the lack of enrollment in the IPPIS system and complete promotion arrears for 2020, 2021, and 2022.

It was discovered that one of the protestors was allegedly assaulted by the military sent out to drive them from the protest site during the demonstration, which began about 8.30am.

An unidentified protester told Newsmen that the purpose of the demonstration was to inform management and the federal government of how employees at DICON were being treated.

“This is because we discovered that all agencies under the Ministry of Defence have been enrolled on IPPIS, only DICON workers have not been captured. But you can see how our member was beaten and another taken into custody by soldiers,” the protester said.

Another protester, who did not want his name published for fear of retaliation, pleaded on the federal government to step in and order the management to comply with its demands and to cease persecuting employees who complained about their treatment and denial of rights.

When contacted, the Public Relations Officer, DICON, Musa Yakubu, in a text message responding to our correspondent’s demand for a reaction, said he was not on the ground but was following up on the situation.