Workers of the National Business and Technical Examinations Board in Abuja on Tuesday protested against the alleged invasion of its zonal office in Wuse, sealing the office after removing office and examination materials from the place.
The workers, who claimed the police had sealed the office since Sunday, carried various placards, calling for the intervention of the Federal Government in the matter.
Our correspondent learnt that the police were from the Inspector-General of Police Special Tactical Task Force Squad.
They were said to have acted on the instructions of “faceless individuals who are laying claim to the ownership of NABTEB premises”.
Our correspondent was told that the officers also arrested two security men on duty at the office.
One of the protesters and Chairman of the Non-Academic Staff Union, Paul Ohuimumwen, said the action would affect the conduct of NABTEB examination as “significant materials were carted by the policemen”.
He said, “The office has been here since 1998. In 2013, some people came, wrote to us that the building had been sold and that we should vacate the premises. But the matter is in court. Just on Sunday, some policemen broke into the office and removed the air conditioners.
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“As we speak, candidates cannot access this office for enrolment. The policemen cleaned the NABTEB logo from the walls. There are some individuals trying to take over a Federal Government property.
“The policemen look like Special Anti-Robbery Squad officers. But this is not a private property. This is a Federal Government’s establishment. You can imagine the kind of injustice we face in this country, where an individual believes they are more powerful than the government. We are asking the National Assembly and the Federal Government to wade into this matter.”
NABTEB Principal Legal Officer, Shelley Madojemu, said, “The building was given to NABTEB in 1998. We have the Certificate of Occupancy. In 2013, we got a letter from a faceless person saying that they had acquired the property. But we all know that this is a Federal Government establishment.
“The police came on Sunday. The director of this zonal office was arrested and was only released days ago. This is an examination body and examination activities have been grounded since Monday. We are supposed to be registering candidates for admission to tertiary institutions. That has been halted. We are calling on the Federal Government not to allow such private invasion.”
Force Public Relations Officer, DCP Frank Mba, said they would investigate the incident.
He said, “This is news to me. Honestly, I have not heard anything about it. What I am going to do is to initiate investigations into it to know exactly what has happened.” [PUNCH]
