Lawyers To Sue Kano Rice Factory Accused Of Locking Up Labourers For 3 Months

A group of legal professionals under the aegis of the International Lawyers Assisting Workers Network (ILAW), Nigeria chapter, has revealed plans to sue Popular Farms and Mills Limited for allegedly locking up labourers for three months at its rice factory in Kano State.

The police command in Kano had last month rescued 126 workers allegedly held hostage at the rice milling company located in Challawa Industrial Estate in the state.

The Indian company was said to have prevented the workers from leaving the premises of its factory since March, 2020, when the federal government imposed the nationwide lockdown to prevent them from spreading COVID-19 into the factory.

But ILAW, in a statement by its spokesperson, Benson Upah, condemned the company for allegedly keeping the workers in “deplorable conditions and on starvation rations for three months in Kano” against their wishes.

The group said, “Holding workers against their will, false imprisonment, forced labour, threats and intimidation at work place, harassment, and starvation rations constitute not only unwholesome labour practices, they infringe on the rights and liberty of the individual as guaranteed, not onlt by International Standards established by the ILO but also the 1999 Constitution (as altered) Section 35 (1) and actionable in criminal and tort laws.

“The fact that these workers were held in an overcrowded facility/factory during the Covid-19 pandemic, contrary to Section 8 of the Factories Act, 1987 makes this act more reprehensible.

“The conduct of the rice mill company is not only barbaric and nihilistic, it also goes against the grain of Decent Work Agenda to which we all subscribe.”

ILAW called on the police, the Ministry of Labour, Immigration and other relevant authorities to ensure the detained workers got justice against their employers.

It said, “This is made necessary and urgent by the fact that Popular Farm are allegedly not first time offenders. At the time of this infraction, they were alleged to be on suspension from the membership of the Rice Processors Association of Nigeria ” over some issues “.”

The group said it would on its part seek, “all lawful and constitutional avenues of seeking redress to ensure observance of workers’ rights, including filing lawsuits, signature campaigns, etc, in order to protect the interests and dignity of workers.”

It added, “In pursuance of this objective, the ILAW, working with the NLC/TUC state councils and their affiliate unions in Kano, will embark on all lawful means to ensure that the Kano 126 get justice. And by this Statement, the ILAW is sending a clear and unmistakable message to unscrupulous employers of labour, Nigerian and foreign employers of labour, that the days of workplace tyranny are over.”