DSS allegedly detains Bauchi State Chairman of ASUU over its current strike action

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) chapters of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU) and Bauchi State University, Gadau, have confirmed the detention of ATBU chapter Chairman, Dr Adamu Babayo, by the Department of State Services (DSS).

The Vice Chairman of the association, Dr Ibrahim Maina, condemned the action at a joint press conference on Sunday in Bauchi alleging that Babayo was detained by the DSS operatives on Sunday, when he was invited to the department’s headquarters in Bauchi.  

He said: “the ASUU Chairman, Adamu Babayo was invited through a Short Service Message (SMS) which is not a formal way of invitation. On Friday he received a text message requesting him to report to the DSS office in Bauchi on Sunday. He went to the office together with some of the executives of the association. The DSS operatives requested other members of his entourage to leave and detained him in their office,” he said.  

Maina said that the action was a violation of fundamental human rights and queried the DSS to explain the reasons behind the arrest.  

“Let them explain to us why he was detained. That will give us the idea of what needs to be done. If the detention is in connection with the ongoing strike; it is a nationwide strike embarked on by the universities in the country and not a peculiar or personal problem. What wrong have we done by pressing for our rights through the strike,” he queried.  

Maina maintained that industrial action is the rights of a worker as enshrined in the civil service act, which enable workers to press home their demands. However, a DSS official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, denied the allegation, insisting that Babayo was not detained but invited to answer some questions.