Police disrupt teachers’ posting in Rivers

[Mirror]

Rivers State Government yesterday accused the police of disrupting a ceremony where about 13,000 newly recruited teachers were being given letters of posting.

But the police said the gathering was illegal as the state government did not apply for the necessary permission to enable it host such ceremony.

A witness told our correspondent that some policemen in several vans stormed the Liberation Stadium, venue of the employment/ posting exercise and ordered people in the assembly out of the venue.

One of the affected teachers said the police claimed they had information that the teachers were planning a protest.

The teacher, however, said he was not aware of any planned protest, adding that he had gone to collect his letter of posting following a directive from the Ministry of Education.

He said: "We tried to ask the policemen about what is going on and they told us that they had information that we have gathered for a protest. I don't know of any protest, we were to receive our posting today that was why we went there."

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Dr. Richard Ofuru, said: "It is simply an administrative matter. We didn't think it was necessary to inform the police.

"Remember, during the interview session in the recruitment process, this stadium was also used because of the number of applicants involved. We did not inform the police then and we did not have any problem.

"I do not know why anybody would read meaning into a simple administrative affair. I do not know of any political undertone because there is none."

However, the state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Ahmed Muhammad, told journalists on phone that the police had to disperse the gathering because the Ministry of Education did not obtain a police permit before gathering people at the stadium.

Muhammad said it was viewed as an illegal gathering which was against laid down regulations

He said: "Everybody knows that they can't just organise a gathering of that magnitude without obtaining the right permission. The gathering was illegal and we have to disperse them."

The Commissioner for Information and Communications, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, accused both the police and the political opposition of always hinging their actions on the image and person of President Goodluck Jonathan.

Semenitari wondered how the police could justify their action in this incident, when the state government was trying to put smile on the faces of about 13,000 unemployed graduates in the state.

Source: Police disrupt teachers' posting in Rivers