By Emma Una

CALABAR—TEACHERS of Federal Government Girls’ College, FGGC, Calabar, yesterday, took to the streets to demand justice over the invasion of the school, last Thursday, by operatives of the Department of State Services, DSS, who beat up their colleagues.

The teachers, who carried out the peaceful protest to the state House of Assembly complex, carried placards which bore inscriptions such as “We need justice without delay,” “DSS stop using teachers as a bait,” “Teachers are agents of development,” “We are not terrorists, stop the use of force on us,” among others.

Chairman of the Trade Union Congress, TUC, in Cross River State, Mr. Clarkson Otu, said that the protest became necessary so as to get justice to ensure that perpetrators of the act are brought to book.

DSS

He said: “We came here to register our grievances so that proper investigation can be carried out and those DSS personnel, who invaded the school, if found wanting, can be brought to book.

“We need justice and perpetrators of the sordid act should be made to account for their action.”

Reacting, the Speaker of Cross River State House of Assembly, Mr. John Lebo, assured the protesters of the House’s preparedness to pass the message to the appropriate quarters.

The Speaker, who was represented by the Clark of the House, Elder Ekpeyong Bassey, said: “We will certainly do justice to the issue and ensure that only justice is done.”

DSS reaction

Recall that when the incident occurred last Thursday, the State Director of DSS, Mr. Fubara Duke, told Vanguard that it was a case of mistaken identity.

He explained that some hoodlums went to the school to beat up a teacher who flogged one of the students, but did not see the teacher, so they returned the following morning.

Duke added that when the teachers saw the DSS operative, they thought she was one of the hoodlums and pounced on her, beat her up and tore her clothes.

Duke said: “There were no gunshots and my men only went there on the invitation of the school authorities and the teachers mistook my personnel for hoodlums.

“They went there to sort out an issue, where the DSS operative’s daughter was beaten by a teacher, leaving her body with lacerations.

“But she was mistaken for one of the hoodlums, who went there to beat up a teacher on Wednesday.”

He said he had asked the school administration to fish out the teachers, who attacked the DSS lady, to face the appropriate punishment.