The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has clarified that it received no communication from the National Association of Plant Operators (NAPO) regarding a strike action at the Train 7 project site.
This comes as NAPO claims that one of four members allegedly assaulted at the H-Block gate of the Train 7 project, who, according to it, sustained a ruptured scrotum and bladder bleeding, remains unaccounted for following their arrest by the police.
Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Finima Division, Muktar Mahdi, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP), stated this in a communication with NAPO sighted by Kristina Reports.
He explained that NAPO did not approach him to discuss modalities for the proposed strike to enable the police to provide security coverage, noting that due to diverse local interests surrounding the Train 7 project, there was a risk of rival groups hijacking the industrial action.
“I have not seen anything; besides, if there is something like that, you are still supposed to come meet me so we can arrange how to give you people security coverage,” CSP Mahdi said.
“I don’t have a problem with you doing any peaceful protest, but in a situation where you don’t inform the authorities of your intent and decide to send some of your members, you know definitely there will be resistance from the other party which can lead to violence—and the police cannot allow that.”
Mahdi emphasized that the Train 7 project site and the gas liquefaction plant of Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NLNG) are critical national economic assets requiring maximum security to operate without incident, advising NAPO to exercise caution in its activities around the facility.
He added that it would have been prudent for the association to discuss its intentions with him beforehand, revealing that the individuals brought to his station lacked identification proving they were employees of any Train 7 contractors, making their entry into the site illegal.
He urged the union to cooperate with security agencies, noting that while peaceful protest is a constitutional right, it requires security coverage to prevent miscreants from hijacking the event.
“Moreover, NLNG is a national asset which we will never allow anybody to tamper with. As such, it’s the police’s duty to protect lives and property, which includes NLNG, and it must be secured at all costs,” Mahdi stated.
“It may interest you to know that all these people we brought to the station don’t even have company ID cards. So, they’re not allowed to access the facility, and doing so amounts to criminal trespass.”
On his part, the President-General of NAPO, Harold Benstowe, told Kristina Reports in Bonny that four union members were arrested and detained at the Finima Police Station. Three were subsequently arraigned before the Chief Magistrate Court in Bonny and remanded in prison custody.
However, Benstowe expressed deep concern over the whereabouts of the fourth member (identity withheld), stating that information available to the union indicates the member suffered a ruptured scrotum and bladder bleeding when last seen.
The police have yet to confirm or deny this allegation, as the Finima DPO made no mention of it in the communication sighted by Kristina Reports.
The NAPO President-General demanded that CSP Mahdi produce the injured member and account for eight others, stating that the enforcement team sent from Unit 3 of NAPO’s Bonny Chapter comprised 12 members in total, all of whom remained unaccounted for at the time of reporting.
Contrary to DPO Mahdi’s claims, Benstowe maintained that NAPO leadership had written to the Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Adepoju, and had personally met with him to discuss the strike action at the State Police Command Headquarters in Port Harcourt.
In previous public statements, Commissioner of Police Olugbenga Adepoju has repeatedly affirmed that the command under his leadership maintains zero tolerance for human rights violations, assuring the public that officers will exhibit the highest standards of professionalism in the discharge of their duties.