By Victor Ahiuma-Young
AS  controversy over the  alleged police killing of Daniel Osikoya, a  Chi Food Nigeria Limited, Lagos, casual worker on December 30, 2016, and injuring of another, Victor  Oyare, during  an industrial unrest,   rages on, parents of late Osikoya have pleaded with organized labour to assist them to get justice.

*Mr. Victor Oyare in his hospital bed

This came as Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and its Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC, counterpart,  demanded employment for  one of the siblings of the deceased worker, N50 million for the parents and supply company’s products to the mother as compensation.

At meeting held on January 27,  the managment rejected the demands.

However, no date has been fixed for the next meeting.

At the first meeting after the incident, NLC and TUC threatened to cripple the operations of Chi Foods , if it failed to pay adequate compensation to the families of late Osikoya, and Oyare who survived alleged police bullets with injuries.

Perceived discrimination

Late Osikoya 19, and  Oyare, still receiving treatment at private hospital in Isolo were allegedly shot  by policemen drafted to the Ajao Estate factory and head office of Chi Food, on the request  by the management.

Osikoya, was said to have died before he was rushed to the hospital, while Oyare escaped with bullet  injuries on his leg.

It was gathered that casual workers were protesting against perceived discrimination between them and the regular employees by the management, when a team of policemen drafted to the scene  allegedly shot the workers in controversial circumstances.

Leaders of Lagos councils of NLC and TUC, in the meantime, have vowed to use the company as an example against perceived unfair labour practices especially outsourcing and casualisation of workers, claiming the management of the company lied to them on the circumstances leading to the killing and injuring of the two casual workers.

They spoke after visiting both the company and Oyare at his hospital bed to ascertain the true circumstances of the tragic incident.

Why we invited police: The management of the company through its Head of Corporate Affairs, Bode Sojobi, had told the labour leaders led by NLC and TUC state Chairmen, Idowu Adelakun and Niyi Ogunremi, respectively, that the company invited the police to stop the workers from forcefully taking  away company products on the fateful day.

According to him, “those  who were on  afternoon duty wanted to escape with company products and in the process of stopping them by the police, two of our workers were shot.”

How I cheated death: He claimed the management had visited the parents of the late Osikoya.

But the parents of the deceased worker claimed nobody from the company visited them over the demise of their 19 years old son.

When labour leaders visited Oyare at his hospital bed, he said he cheated death by hidding after he was shot on the leg. According to him:  “My colleague that died lost so much blood and before he got to Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH, he died. We did not know anything about the products. The issue happened during the afternoon shift. We just heard about it when we resumed work.”

At the home of the  deceased worker, the parents pleaded with NLC and TUC  to assist them to get coronal report as wellas justice over the unlawful killing of their son.

Mr.  Osikoya in tears, said his late son was the bread winner of  the family and the only male, saying:   “I gave birth to five children. I have retired from government’s work. Please, come to our aid.” Adelakun and  Ogunremi, while condemning the action of the company and the police, decried the increasing cases of outsourcing and casualization of workers in Nigeria.

They promised not to take the incident lightly,  declaring:  “We are going to investigate the matter and ensure that we stop such occurrences in the future. We are not happy about the role of policemen in Lagos in this case. They must come out and explain their own side of the story.”

CDWR demands  justice

 Meanwhile, Campaign for Democratic and Workers’ Right, CDWR,  has demanded payment of adequate compensation from the police and the management of Chi Food,  to the families of the two victims of the incident .

The group   also demanded that the alleged killer policemen must be brought to book, describing  the police  action as ruthless and an act of terror.

CDWR in a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Chinedu Bosah, lamented that “it is not surprising that a team of armed police officers invited by the management of Chi Limited shot and killed the two workers  at the company headquarter at Ajao estate, as it is not a new thing by the Nigerian police.

According to the statement: “After the dastardly act of the Nigeria Police, the Lagos State Police Command through its Public Relation Officer, Mrs. Dolapo Badmos claimed that “the command has studied the situation and discovered that the personnel deployed acted in accordance with the rules.”

This is  a blatant lie. What actually happened was that casual workers protested the Chi Limited management decision not to give them Christmas gift. The management mobilised the police to the scene . The police  useed  force and Mr. Daniel Osikoya and one other worker were shot dead.

The statement said: “CDWR demands the prosecution of the entire police team involved in the incident as well as the management.

Community policing

The police need  to be reformed radically into a community policing with active participation of the working people across the federation and under democratic control of the working masses. The  management of Chi Limited should be blamed as well.

Taiwo Oyelami: “In 2009, a casual worker, Mr. Taiwo Oyelami who sustained a serious injury in the course of work on December 29, 2008, at Chi Food, was not only harassed and sacked after five  months, he was also abandoned and denied full treatment and compensation. What is more worrisome is the fact that the leaders of the union (Agricultural and Allied Employees’ Union of Nigeria) at Chi Limited have become bellboys to the management.

The union leadership is so irresponsible that it openly defends the management at the expense of workers whose contribution oils the union’s machinery- this is a disservice to the interest of workers.

We call on the Nigeria Labour Congress , NLC, to take up this matter with all the seriousness that it deserves to ensure that the Nigeria Police and Chi Limited do not sweep this matter under the carpet. Failing to do this will further embolden the Nigeria Police and companies’ owners like Chi Limited to continue terrorizing workers.