The Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria MWUN has demand the immediate release of seventeen dockworkers who are currently under detention of National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) over narcotics related issues aboard two vessels at the Lagos Seaports.
The detained dockworkers were arrested onboard MV Cha Yaree Naree and MV Karteria both at Greenview Development Nigeria Limited GDNL at the Lagos Port Complex (LPC)
According to a statement signed by the President General of the Workers Union Comrade Adewale Adeyanju, and made available to newsmen on Monday, the PG lamented that the dockworkers were reportedly on duty before their arrest on board the two ships which allegedly laden with narcotics.
Comrade Adeyanju said the union is worried as its members seem to be targeted for arrest whilst ship agents and consignee who are in possession of ship manifest were not interrogated let alone arrested.
He hinted that there was no information that the drugs were found on the workers adding that “Surprisingly, the poor workers who were neither the ship agents or consignee of the vessel were not arrested or kept incarcerated by the NDLEA since October 13 2021 till date, without being released or charging them to court as it would have been done in tenet of the rule of law”
” Similarly, the union was also informed that on the 7th of November 2021 another four dockworkers who were on duty on board MV Karteria were arrested by operatives of NDLEA for a bag said to be found with in the vessel, the content of it was not disclosed.
“Again this bag that was found with undisclosed content was not in possession of any innocent workers arrested and kept in detention for days without being released and charge to court. Their cell phones were also said to have been seized by NDLEA operatives.”
He noted that the union is not in anyway in support of either importation or peddling of hard drugs into the country but frowned at the continued harassment, intimidation , arrest and detention of members who have been kept incommunicado for over two weeks without being released or charged to court.
The Union leader also called on the NDLEA to release the workers or charged them to court accordingly.
