PTD Condemns Alleged Torture of Tanker Drivers in Owerri, Calls for Justice

The national leadership of the Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) Branch of NUPENG has condemned, in strong terms, the torture, inhuman, and degrading treatment meted out to two of its members in Owerri, Imo State capital, on Sunday, February 25, 2024, by overzealous men of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

In a statement, PTD National Chairman, Comrade Lucky Osesua, his deputy Comrade Dayyabu Garga, and the National Secretary, Comrade Humble Obinna Power on Friday, called on the Federal Government, National Assembly, security authorities, particularly the Commandant, Imo State Command of the NSCDC, Police, Department of State Security (DSS), and the state government, to urgently look into the situation and help to guarantee the safety and protection of its members on wheels even as they seek justice.

The affected truck carries the number plate AXB 605ZH.

It also added that PTD as a law-abiding trade union was fully in support of a clampdown on criminal elements who had developed a penchant for illegal oil bunkering and other unlawful activities that promote economic sabotage in the country.

PTD however noted that incessant harassment and bullying of its members would no longer be tolerated, adding that their members had suffered one harassment too many in the hands of several state and nonstate actors and that the menace should forthwith be stopped in the interest of industrial peace, harmony and tranquility.

The oil workers’ body, in the statement, also expressed heartfelt sympathy to the affected victims, while also assuring them of the preservation of their fundamental rights as enshrined in the laws of Nigeria.