Police arrest 179 physically-challenged persons • Delta orders their release THE demonstration by physically-challenged persons who besieged Delta State Government House, Asaba on Monday, to protest against their neglect is taking a new turn as 179 of them were whisked away by men of the state Police Command as they barricaded the Asaba end of the busy Benin-Onitsha Expressway. However, the state government has ordered their release. Several of the furious protesters were arrested by the police and immediately whisked away to the State Criminal Investigations Department (SCID), raising fears that they may be charged to court. Delta State Chairman, Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities, Obruche Isaac Omor, said over 1,000 of his members, whom he insisted engaged in a peaceful protest, were arrested by the police. Vowing not to give in until Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan met their terms, which among other things, called for the quick passage of a Bill for an Act to set up a Commission for Persons with Disabilities by the state House of Assembly, they had continued the street demonstration right up to 12 midnight on Monday and resumed in the early hours of yesterday before the police moved in to disperse them. In its reaction, the Commissioner for Information, Chike Ogeah, said allegations by the group are not true. Ogeah said: “Delta State government, under the administration of Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan, has a comprehensive package to enhance the welfare of the physically-challenged. One of such is the reserving of a minimum of five per cent of employment into the state civil service for physically-challenged persons. Since the policy was adopted, over 85 physically-challenged persons have been employed into the civil service while Uduaghan only recently approved the employment of additional 50 persons.” He said in addition, the 25 local council areas in the state through which the SURE-P funds are being disbursed, are under instruction to proportionately include physically-challenged persons in their list of beneficiaries. Under the state Rehabilitative Interactive Skills Empowerment (RISE) and skills acquisition scheme, up to 300 physically-challenged persons have benefitted from various training schemes in hair dressing, photography, fashion designs and other crafts after which starter packs such as hair dryers, sewing machines, grinders, cameras, printers, filing machines and mobility aids were distributed to the beneficiaries. The Office of the Executive Assistant to the Governor on Physically Challenged Persons has been actively engaging all stakeholders, including the private sector, in improving the lot of this segment of the society. Through the office, students with disabilities receive yearly grants under the state scholarships scheme. In January 2011, more than 40 physically-challenged persons were enrolled in different skills acquisition programmes; another 20 persons were presented with tables, chairs and N20,000 recharge cards to commence their own businesses while additional 30 persons were enrolled in yet another phase of the skills acquisition scheme. Delta State undoubtedly has the most comprehensive and responsive welfare package for the physically-challenged in the country. However, we also acknowledge that there is still room for improvement. Delta State Police Command, however, said it arrested 179 persons after a failed attempt by the state police boss, Ikechukwu Aduba, and other eminent citizens to persuade them to quit the road. Aduba told The Guardian that the suspects took laws into their hands for three days and had to pay for it. “On Monday, July 8, 2013, groups of disabled men and women from the 23 local council areas in Delta State, from 1100hrs commenced what they termed a three-day siege by forming a human road block on the Benin/Asaba Expressway, holding motorists hostage for over 11 hours. “All efforts by highly placed and well-meaning Nigerians, including the SSG Delta State, the CP Delta and Chairman, Capital Oil, fell on deaf ears. The Command finally employed minimum force to disperse the dissidents.” The number of suspects arrested is 179 made up of 156 male suspects and 53 female suspects. Investigation is on-going to unravel the extent of individual suspects’ involvement and sponsors after which they will be made to face the full wrath of the law”, Aduba said. But the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr. Lucky Uyabeme, said the protesters were not under detention but in “protective custody” of the police. Uyabeme said: “They were not arrested but merely taken away from the road to clear it. You know that it is a federal highway and nobody has the right to block it, but the police were so tactical in removing them from the road so that there would be free-flow of traffic.”..
Posted on: Tue, 09 Jul 2013 22:41:36 +0000
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