By Seyi Odewale
The nation’s foremost cement manufacturer, Dangote Cement, has said no fewer than 27 members of its staff were wounded from gunshots when its premises were invaded last week by men alleged to be Kogi State government vigilante group.
A statement by the company’s Media and Community Relations unit and signed by Francis Awowole Browne, said the destruction of the company’s assets, the company’s staffers wounded from gunshots, and the violation of the fundamental human rights of staff and commuters were some of the fallouts from the invasion of the company by “Governor Yahyah Bello’s extra-judicial forces, popularly referred to as ‘Government Vigilantes or Government Hunters.’
According to the statement, “over 500 government vigilantes invaded the Dangote Cement Plant located at Obajana on Wednesday at the behest of the state governor and forcefully shut down its operations”.
It added that cement trucks were burnt, and many others were vandalised as the invaders forcefully hijacked Dangote buses and vans.
“Market and business activities have been brought to a standstill since the attack was launched. No fewer than 27 Dangote staff are currently in bad conditions after they were shot at by the invaders,” the statement said.
The statement further said the control rooms were forcefully shut down and equipment whose monetary value have not been computed was vandalised, while communication cords were severed to bring production to an abrupt halt.
“The marauding invaders also blocked the roads, distorted vehicular movement, and restricted the movement of people all around Obajana. Since the criminal attack, our vehicles carrying diesel have been attacked along Anyigba road,” the statement said.
It added that the victims of the government sanctioned invasion are currently admitted to the emergency section of the Kogi State Specialist Hospital in Lokoja.
A victim, Mr. Tijani Mukhtari, 45, who was shot severally in the lower abdomen and in other parts, the statement said is currently battling for his life, as health workers who were seen attending to him said he was slated for emergency surgery.
Mukhtari was reportedly having difficulty breathing as he was experiencing extreme pain from the bullets lodged in his body.
Another victim, a 43-year-old man, Aminu Sarki, who is a fleet officer at the transport section of the company, was said to have been shot in the leg. Sarki condemned the act, which he described as illegal and criminal in nature.
Sarki while narrating his ordeal, said he was inside his office when a stray bullet pierced through and hit him on the leg.
He said: “Because of loud gunshots by the governor’s boys, I was just hiding inside our office at the PTI when the bullets hit me and got lodged inside my legs.”
He, therefore, called on the Federal Government to intervene quickly and help stop the excesses from the Kogi State government and the invaders.
Another victim, a 21-year-old Isyaku Adamu, who was also shot, described the invasion as barbaric and nasty. He called on both the company and the government to resolve the conflict in the interest of the masses who will be most affected.
Market men and women in the area said they are largely going to be affected if the crisis is not resolved. According to them, the incident has not only affected the company, their stalls and shops have virtually been closed down because there were no customers.
A businessman at the Obajana main market, Peter Dare, described the situation as worrisome, adding that thousands of people will be impoverished if the company is not opened this week.
Another trader, Madam Esther, who sells tomatoes, wondered why the government was insensitive to the plight of the masses. “The governor will not give us a job. Now that we are doing petty businesses, they are closing the company that is helping us,” she said.
