The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has threatened to institute legal action against the State Security Service (SSS) for assaulting one of its members.
Rabiu Nasiru, chairman of the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) chapter of the union, stated this at a news conference on Friday in Zaria, Kaduna.
He said the news conference was to call the attention of the authorities and public to the “unwholesome activities of some personnel of the DSS.”
Mr Nasiru alleged that the SSS assaulted one Abdulkadir Mohammed, the Kano Zonal Coordinator of ASUU, while on a union assignment.
He said that operatives of the SSS assaulted Mr Mohammed while he was travelling to Katsina in his vehicle along Hadejia Road by-pass in Kano.
“His fault, if any, was that he drove in the front of a motorcade being escorted by the DSS.
“The incident occurred on August 18 at about 2:00 p.m. on Hadejia Road by-pass Kano, and the attack was perpetrated by men of the DSS in a Hilux vehicle belonging to Kano State Government House.
“Besides the physical assault, they also smashed the windscreen and broke the side mirror of Mohammed’s car in a show of force for no just cause,” Mr Nasiru said.
He called on the leadership of the SSS to take punitive measures against the officers involved as they portrayed the organisation in a bad light.
Mr Nasiru demanded that the SSS compel the personnel responsible for the violation to repair the damaged car or face legal actions.
He asked the National Assembly to reorganise the SSS or review Section 315 of the 1999 Constitution that incorporated the 1986 Decree 19, issued by the military.
He said the review would ensure that the organisation conformed to democratic tenets and the rule of law.
