On 9th of July, Oyo State House of assembly directed the Committees on employment, Labour, Productivity and Pension and Security, and Strategy to summon the management of Sumal Food Limited, the representatives of the workers’ Union with a view to unravel the cause of sporadic shooting that took the lives of 2 casual worker in the and left many injured.
Following the motion moved at the plenary by Hon Yusuff Oladeni Adebisi and Hon O.A Oluwafowokanmi of Ibadan Southwest I and Ibadan Southwest II respectively on the “URGENT NEED TO CALL FOR IMMEDIATE INVESTIGATION OF THE UNFORTUNATE INCIDENT THAT CLAIMED LIVES AND INJURED MANY AT “YALE 3″ BRANCH OF SUMAL FOOD LIMITED, OLUYOLE INDUSTRIAL ESTATE, IBADAN”
Hon Yusuff Oladeni brought the attention of the house to the alarming rate at which the multinational companies maltreating Nigerians and neglecting their welfare when the need arises.
He recalled back to the tragic death of 21-year-old, 300 level student of European Studies at University of Ibadan, Gbadebo Richard, who was on a holiday job due to the COVID-19 school closure, was fell into a soap-making machine at a factory owned by Henkel Nigeria Limited, the makers of WAW detergent and bar soap, in July 2020. His death went unnoticed until blood was seen coming out of the machine.
He further notes that a similar unfortunate incident occurred at the British American Tobacco Company, Ibadan owned by Lebanese, where a Nigerian casual worker died from exposure to nicotine and tobacco materials, and no action was taken.
“Mr Speaker sir, Equivalently on Monday, 1 July, 2024, another dreadful incident of assault, killing, and malhardling occurred at “Yale 3” branch of Sumal Foods Limited, producer of Yale biscuits and a range of other snacks in Oluyole Industrial Estate in Ibadan South West Local Government Area,two persons reportedly died and several others sustained injuries from live bullets fired by Nigerian Police officers and Operation Burst personnel.
“Aware that the workers of this food processing company were holding a peaceful protest over their poor working conditions, the neglects of injured workers, and the alleged misappropriation of food palliatives by top management.
“The workers’ grievances included unsafe working conditions, lack of helmets and safety boots, and being treated like slaves. One worker described the working conditions as akin to “hellfire.” The situation escalated around 3:15 pm when an expatriate manager called for security reinforcement, allegedly spreading false information about workers rampaging the facility. This led to trigger-happy officers firing live bullets, resulting in two deaths and filling the environment with tear gas and bullets.”- he submitted
The Speaker, Rt Hon Adebo Ogundoyin has called on the Nigerian Police to submit a comprehensive report about the incident and ordered the house Committees on employment, Labour, Productivity and Pension and Security, and Strategy to summon the management of Sumal Food Limited, the representatives of the workers’ Union to the floor of the house for further investigation.
