Awka, Nigeria – Mr Barnabas Alih, Managing Director of AliBan De Great Industries, Nkpor, a beverages manufacturing company, has petitioned the Police against alleged illegal invasion of his factory on Oct. 10 by operatives of Operation Clean and Healthy Anambra (OCHA).
A copy of the petition addressed to the Commissioner of Police, Anambra Command was made available to journalists on Sunday.
Alih, who spoke to Journalists at the factory, said the invaders who claimed they came from OCHA brigade, stormed the factory without a warrant or court order, destroyed the CCTV cameras and took away large quantities
of products, generators and other valuables before sealing up the premises
He said nine workers on duties were forcefully taken away out of which two were freed while seven had been held hostage for three days in OCHA detention facility without prosecution.
Alih said his business was duly registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and all products approved and certified by the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), the Regulatory agencies in charge of his range of products.
He said efforts to speak with the OCHA brigade officials was not successful as they refused to talk to him and later confiscated the phones of those on duty because he was not in the factory.
He said his products were genuine with registered trademarks, contrary to claims by OCHA brigade that the factory was into manufacturing of fake and counterfeit products.
“The first thing they asked for was where the CCTV was, they destroyed it, disconnected the monitor to erase every trace before they started their action.
“I tried to speak to them on phone to know what was happening but they refused to talk to me because I was not around
“These people broke into my office, took my belongings, loaded cartons of drinks from my factory in about five vehicles, took away my Lister generator and a small generator and started asking my workers where my private vehicle was.
“My manager showed them the regulatory approval documents but they squeezed them and threw them away.
“As I am talking to you, I am not aware of our offence, I have called NAFDAC and they said they are not aware of the operation,” he said.
Alih said he was embarrassed by the illegal invasion of his business premises and that he was losing a lot of money as a result of the shutdown while his workers’ human rights were being violated by illegally detaining them.
He called on the Nigerian Police to kindly effect immediate release of the innocent workers under captivity of OCHA Brigade and investigate their activities, saying they lacked the powers to act as regulatory authority over manufacturers of beverages.
Also speaking, one of the workers who wished to be identified as Happiness, said those who came for the operation ransacked the offices and went away with valuables after they drank the products to their satisfaction.
Happiness said “when they broke into the factory, they asked for my MD’s whereabouts, broke into his office with a hammer, destroyed the CCTV cameras and started carrying our goods.
“They did not show us any documentation. They just ordered us to lie face down and took seven of us to their office,” he said.
