NDLEA Officers Manhandles Persons With Disabilities, Destroy Mobility Aids In Abuja

The Nigeria Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) is currently under fire after some of its officers allegedly brutalized and maltreated a group of persons with disability, who are representative of Association of Physically Challenged Applicant and Workers during a peaceful protest last Tuesday, March 3.

The group had embarked on a peaceful protest to push for the implementation of the mandatory five percent recruitment slots in every recruitment exercise of all Federal, State, local government and private organizations in Nigeria, after nearly seven months of seeking official audience with the leadership of NDLEA on the issue.

The law which seeks to make life meaningful for PWDs was recently passed by an Act of the Federal House of Assembly: the Disability Act.

The association, it was gathered had written several letters from 16th September, 2019 demanding an audience with the Executive Chairman of the agency when they started their recruitment exercise since their online application does not make provision for PWDs who were applying to identify their types of disability.

But all efforts made by the association to have an audience with executive chairman prove abortive, hence the decision to opt for a peaceful protest.

“When they wanted to do otherwise we brought out our cooking materials and our sleeping mat to let them know that, we are ready to spend days at their gate till our percentage as provided in the disabilities Act which was signed by the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari is given to our members,” a member of the association said under anonymity.

The Association was embarking on a 10-Day Advocacy Tour to ensure that some Agencies/Parastatals recruiting will abide the disability law which was enacted by President Muhammed Buhari on 23 January, 2019 after long years of wait and abandonment by the past administrations.
The group lamented that aside the NDLEA neglecting its members association for more than eight hours without any proper attention/audience, sent its operative at about 6:13pm after they were ignored since morning (10am) by the head of the agency.

They alleged that about four fully-armed NDLEA officers started shooting sporadically, beating up members of the Association and destroying their crutches and other mobility aids.

They demanded them to move while they dragged the cripples on the tarred road leading to infliction of injuries.

Some physically challenged persons, an eye witness alleged were beaten with their crutches and walking aids. Women with disabilities amongst the group were not left out as they were violently dragged on the floors like animals and using the bottom of their guns to hit them.

“Many of our members sustained degrees of injuries, crutches and wheelchairs were broken and many of our members could not move an inch because, their walking aid were seized and broken with many phone missing and other items of the association.

“We have now handed over the matter to the police, media houses, lawyer and human right activist to help us ask the head of NDLEA and his men whether or not it is a crime to demand for our right in a peaceful demonstration when all our letters from the National President of the Association of the Physically Challenged Applicants/Workers, Mr. Godstime Onyegbulam (PhD) yielded no positive result.”

“We did the peaceful demonstration at the National Assembly, both the Upper and the lower chamber gave us audience and our matters was addressed as expected, the same was done at the Head of service of the federation office, Nigeria Custom, NNPC, FIRS, NCC, NASRDA, SON, FEMA, Federal Civil Service Commission etc they all complied and have taken many of our people into their organization and others gave positive promises for the inclusion of PWDs but the reverse was the case with NDLEA”, the member said.