The Ogun State chapter of the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights, CDHR, has given the Ogun State Government a seven-day ultimatum to furnish it with the specific Public Service Rules violated by the dismissed English Language teacher, Jolaolu Adegbenro, so that it could know the next line of action on the sack.
The group also appealed to the other five officials of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology who were also sacked alongside Adegbenro, to exercise patience, adding that as soon as Adegbenro’s matter was resolved, others affected would benefit from it.
This was stated on Monday in Abeokuta by the CDHR state chairman, Mr. Folarin Olayinka, while addressing journalists at the Ile Irohin secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ.
Olayinka described Adegbenro’s sack as “unlawful”, noting that following the investigation the body had conducted into the matter, it said it discovered that the alleged offensive summary passage in the examination paper did not refer to any state government, but instead to promote academic excellence among the pupils.
Olayinka therefore called on the Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, to intervene by reviewing the sack of the six civil servants and investigate the ‘kangaro panel’ set up by the Head of Service that conducted the trial.
The CDHR boss said: “Upon intervention and investigation conducted by the CDHR Ogun State, it was found out that the misinterpreted indirect constructive criticism question does not aim at embarrassing the Ogun State government as no state of the federation was mentioned in the summary question, rather it was to promote academic excellence among the students.
“The Ogun State CDHR found the decision of the orchestrated but kangaroo panel that dismissed Mr. Adegbenro Emmanuel in bad taste, inordinate and regrettable precedent in the history of Ogun State. It is against democratic norms and negates the rebuilding mission of Governor Ibikunle Amosun.”
Adegbenro was sacked alongside five others by the state government over an alleged offensive comprehension passage in the 2014/2015 Unified Examination for the Senior Secondary School under the pretext of using a passage believed to be too critical of the education defects in the state.
Others sacked included two Grade Level 17 officers, Mrs. Folashade Oresegun, who was the Director, Education Support Services; and Mr. Rotimi Odunsi, who was the Director, Curriculum Development and Evaluation; and a Grade Level 16 officer, Mr. Majekodunmi Oluwole.
Others are a Grade Level 10 officer, Mr. E.O. Asegbe, and a Grade Level 8 officer, Taylor Damilola. However, the sack of Oresegun and Odunsi were converted to compulsory retirement while the remaining four were summarily dismissed.
Continuing, the Ogun CDHR said it had sent letters of request to the Head of Service and the Chairman, Teaching Service Commission, which they must comply with within seven days in line with Sections 1, 2, and 3, of the Freedom of Information Act 2011, to furnish it with the grounds on which the sack were based.
According to Olayinka, the body asked the Head of Service to furnish it with the Section of the Public Service Rules Mr. Adegbenro Emmanuel Jolaolu contravened that warrants dismissal or the Section of the General Order he contravened.
“The response from them will determine our next line of action,” he said.
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