Immigration officer assaults journalists at pension task team office •As retirees protest non-payment of pension

Written by Clement Idoko, Abuja Wednesday, 13 June 2012

 
AN Immigration official attached to the office of the Pension Reform Task Team (PRTT) in the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation,  Federal Secretariat, Abuja, on Tuesday, attacked journalists on their lawful duties on the premises.
The development came in the wake of protest staged by Federal Government retirees on the premises of the Office of the Head of Service over non-payment of gratuities and pension arrears.
An official of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), who was simply identified as ‘Akinmodiro,’ manhandled and dispossessed Mr Joshua Uma of Leadership newspapers of his wrist watch before he was rescued by his colleagues from Nigerian Tribune, Daily Trust, News Agency of Nigeria and Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN).
His claim was that he was under strict instruction that nobody should be allowed to see the chairman of the Pension Reform Task Team, Alhaji Abdulrasheed Maina.
The journalists, who were prevented by the security operatives to see Alhaji Maina had wanted to hear from the pension team after accusations by the pensioners picketing the premises that the task team had abandoned them and had not done enough in settling their entitlements.
Over 100 pensioners carrying placards of various inscriptions and calling for the sacking of the pension reform task team chairman and immediate payment of their entitlements, said some of them had not received any salary apart from their gratuities upon retirement more than seven years ago.
Deputy chairman of the federal branch of Nigeria Union of Pensioners (Abuja chapter), Comrade Omezi Sunday, said the pension team had continuously “short-changed” pensioners which prompted them to approach the Head of Civil Service of the Federation for succour.
Sunday, who retired in 2006, said “we came to complain to the Head of Service that we are short changed; they have not been paying us our money, arrears, some people have not been paid their gratuities since 2000.
Further efforts to contact Alhaji Maina on his mobile lines proved abortive as the phones were said to be switched off.
The Head of Service of the Federation was, however, not on hand to address the protesters, even though they vowed to mobilise more of their members to continue with the protest as long as it takes the government to address their predicament.

 SOURCE: Nigerian Tribune, 13 June 2012. http://tribune.com.ng/