JUSTICE FOR UNITY ADEDA KPUFF!

SNWR AND MSA CONDEMN ATTACK AND DEATH OF DELTA STATE EDUCATION WORKER

We Stand With Delta State Workers, And Demand Full Investigation And Accountability

The Solidarity Network for Workers’ Rights (SNWR) received with shock and anger the news of the death of Mr Unity Adeda Kpuff, a Level 16 Deputy Director in the Delta State Ministry of Secondary Education, who died on Wednesday morning after reportedly being assaulted at his place of work.

We strongly condemn this attack and all the forms of violence against workers, whether in the workplace or elsewhere. This terrible incident once again shows the failure of the existing system to adequately protect working people. A corrupt neoliberal system that places workers under increasing attacks and difficult conditions while failing to provide for their safety and security cannot claim to serve the interests of the working masses.

We stand in full solidarity with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Delta State Chapter, and with the civil servants who have shut down the Prof. Chike Edozien Secretariat in Asaba and declared an indefinite strike in response. It is important to reiterate that workers should never be subjected to any form of violence or oppression.

When a workplace becomes a site of assault and death, and the alleged perpetrators are said to include a sitting government official, the only acceptable response from organised labour is exactly what Delta workers have shown, which is refusal to work until truth and justice are secured.

This singular event, as well as other unmentionable tortures workers have endured over the years, is a direct reflection of a brutal system that has never valued human life. It is a system that has continued to shortchange the right to safety, existence, and better welfare in the workplace. This is the crisis of the capitalist system that workers across different workplaces and beyond should reject.

While we note the allegations linking the Commissioner for Secondary Education, Dr Kingsley Ashibogwo, to the circumstances of Mr Adeda Kpuff’s death, we strongly demand:

1. An independent, transparent investigation committee made up of the civil societies and labour representations into the circumstances of Mr Adeda Kpuff’s death.
2. Full Compensation & Entitlement must be given to the deceased’s family
3. Justice and Full accountability such that whoever is found responsible, regardless of office or rank, must face the law.
4. Guaranteed safety for all civil servants in Delta State, with concrete protections against intimidation or violence by superiors, political actors, or persons acting in their interest.
5. End all forms of victimisation of workers, including those participating in the strike or in the protests demanding justice.

Again, this tragedy is not an isolated incident. It reflects a broader pattern in which working-class people such as teachers, civil servants, and artisans are made vulnerable to the impunity of those who hold power over their livelihoods. SNWR and MSA reaffirm our commitment to defending the rights of workers against any form of oppression or neo-liberal attacks in Delta State, across Nigeria and internationally.                                                                                                                                                                                                       

We call on sister unions such as NASU, NUT, CONUA, and other Trade Unionists, and on the wider public to lend their voices to this demand for justice. An injury to one is an injury to all.

Justice for Unity Adeda Kpuff. No to impunity. Workers’ safety is non-negotiable.

Signed,

Favour Nankpak

South- South Coordinator,

Solidarity Network for Workers’ Rights (SNWR)