Tragedy has struck at the Sumal Food Company, also known as Yale, located in Oluyole Industrial Estate, Ibadan, Oyo State as policemen reportedly shot three workers dead. 

The incident, SaharaReporters gathered on Tuesday, occurred on Monday following a protest by workers over unpaid palliatives. 

Although SaharaReporters could not ascertain the circumstances that led to the shooting, the devastating event may lead to further protests by the workers. 

"Let us stand in solidarity with our fellow workers and rise to the occasion, comrades," a staff of the company who disclosed the incident to SaharaReporters said.

Narrating the unfortunate incident, the staff who spoke on condition of anonymity identified one of the staff shot dead as one Mr Phillips whom he said was in the year three category and a full staff.

He said, "The problem is that there's money that is supposed to be paid to workers and they (referring to the company management) have not been paying it. Normally they usually do annual percentage increments. So, since last year they were supposed to do a 20 percent increment but HR only did six percent remaining 14. 

"They now said you have already signed for the palliative, why are you not paying since last year? Every worker knows that they're supposed to be paying palliative to workers.

"So, on Saturday they (workers) told management that since the company had increased the price of their products, and other companies which increased prices of their products had been paying palliatives to their workers, Yale should not be different. The workers told the management that they would protest against it on Monday.

"On Monday being yesterday, before the workers could come to work, they had deployed policemen everywhere. So that morning, the management changed the memo for contract staff; instead of N200 per day, they increased it to N500 per day. 

"Meanwhile, the 20 percent increment in salary was for the main staff. It is only the full staff that got the six percent. Even the additional 14 percent the workers were agitating for was going to be paid to full staff and not to the contract staff. 

"So because of the protest announcement, they wrote the memo so that the contract staff wouldn't join the protest so that everywhere would be calm. The management now stated in the memo that the palliative is not for the workers, that they are not under labour."

"That the workers are not under the Labour and therefore, they are not entitled to palliatives, the source said, adding that this angered the workers the most.

"During the protest those policemen they (management) brought started harassing the workers. They shot teargas canisters at the protesting workers and that incident scattered the people. Then they (Police) started shooting live bullets at the protesters. 

"They shot one person, called Phillips dead. I saw his dead body and later I heard they killed two more people. But I am sure of one person I saw his body. I just know the person as Phillip, he is a staff in year three. All the staff including the contract staff joined in the protest and it was largely peaceful until police started shooting them," the eyewitness staff narrated.

Meanwhile, the African Action Congress (AAC) has condemned the gruesome murder of the workers in a statement issued on Tuesday by Oyo State chairman, Kayode Babayomi.

Titled: "Stop The Murdering Of Yale Workers!" AAC Oyo Tells Sumai, Makinde, And Oyo Police," the party called on Governor Seyl Makinde to call the Oyo police to order to avoid massacre in the state as protesters at Yale company, Ibadan hit the street and blockade the company to express their displeasure about the inhuman treatment by the Yale company over the disbursement of palliatives processed through the company by the Federal Government.

The statement partly read:  "The Yale staff in Oluyole Ibadan were said to have protested and on the orders of the Yale Company Managers, the police shot directly at 3. As it is, one is confirmed dead, and police were stationed to brutalise and arrest peaceful Yale workers.

"Makinde should call on the Oyo police to order as protest is a right, not a privilege, the new approach of the Ayo police command to protesters is becoming debatable and worrisome that peaceful protesters are not able to converge and express their concern on the state of affairs and private sector matters. 

"It is crystal clear that the Sumal Food Company has been feasting on the sweat and blood of innocent workers through anti-labour practices, anti-unionism, and also in the practice of paying pittances to workers who regularly work overtime. Most workers in the company are even casualized, an illegal and anti-labour practice that milks workers without allowances and the assurance of gratuities. 

"Sadly, the Oyo State government has been silent over these criminal activities. The Nigeria Police Force also stationed officers armed to the teeth permanently in the company premises.

"Now with the workers highly agitated, the African Action Congress (AAC) calls on Governor Seyi Makinde to halt all actions of the police force and other armed state agencies from attacking the workers who are exercising their constitutional rights."

The party, however, warned that Nigeria was no more in the era of colonialism when the Iva Valley Massacre was conducted by a foreign company. "The good people of Oyo state must not experience such, any act of inhumanity will not be acceptable on the workers of Yale Company. 

"We want the police to secure every Yale protester not to dehumanise them and arrest them the protesters are law-abiding and they have the right to express themselves, what transpires to violence in protest is how the security operatives handle or manage the situation of things

"Lastly we want to assure the Yale workers that the conscious people of Oyo state are with them in this struggle and that Police should maintain neutrality. We call on the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress to Intervene immediately and seize the moment to unionize Yale, get justice for workers, and make sure those who ordered the killing (s) are made to face Labour Laws. 

"AAC will continue to stand by Yale workers and all workers of Nigeria passing through the inhumanity of anti-labour practices of private and even the few public industries. Victory is guaranteed."