According to Punch , in a recent incident at the main entrance of the Defense Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) in Kaduna State, soldiers were accused of assaulting one of the protesters. The protesters had gathered to express their grievances against various issues, including the non-payment of their 2019 minimum wage arrears, the lack of enrollment into the IPPIS scheme, and the delay in receiving full promotion arrears for 2020, 2021, and 2022, among other demands. They also called for the payment of their peculiar allowance to mitigate the impact of fuel subsidy removal.
The demonstration, which commenced around 8:30 a.m. on Monday, saw protesters chanting solidarity songs while holding placards to voice their concerns. The primary objective was to bring attention to the alleged mistreatment and denial of rights experienced by workers at DICON.
According to an anonymous protester, the main grievance was the fact that all other agencies under the Ministry of Defense had been enrolled on IPPIS, while DICON workers were left out. This disparity fueled frustration among the demonstrators. During the protest, soldiers were deployed to disperse the crowd, and it was during this intervention that the alleged assault on one of the protesters occurred.
Another protester, who wished to remain anonymous due to fear of victimization, urged the federal government to intervene by directing the management of DICON to address their demands and stop victimizing workers who speak out about their mistreatment and rights denial.
In response to the incident, the Public Relations Officer of DICON, Musa Yakubu, stated that he was not present at the scene but was actively following up on the situation.
The alleged assault has sparked an outcry and raised concerns about the treatment of workers at DICON. It remains to be seen how the authorities will address the protesters’ demands and investigate the reported incident.
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