By Praise Chinecherem
Anambra State Police command has rescued seven staff of a beverage factory allegedl to have been illegally arrested and tortured by operatives of the Operation Clean and Healthy Anambra (OCHA) Brigade.
The victims were reportedly abused while in the Brigade torture camp for days over alleged claim of dealing in fake products at their warehouse located at Nkpor, Idemili North Local Government Area of the state.
It was gathered that based on discrete investigation after the police took over the matter and found out that the factory is registered with Corporate Affairs Commission, (CAC), and has NAFDAC approval, the seven were released and reportedly hospitalized over torture meted out to them at the camp.
Narrating the ordeal his workers went through in the hands of OCHA Brigade, the Director of AliBan De Great Industries, Nkpor, a beverage factory, Mr. Ali Barnabas, described the invasion of the factory and abduction of his workers by the Brigade as unfortunate.
“I have many products registered with NAFDAC and CAC, on 7th October Special Anti Cultism Squad, SPACS, stormed my factory, ransacked it and whisked away five of my workers and a vehicle, released them with the vehicle same day.
“On the 10th October, over 50 masked Ocha Brigade personnel with three SPACS members again stormed my factory, broke the iron protector, removed 2000 plus cartons of finished products, bottles, damaged the CCTV camera, laptop removed, among others.
“They picked nine of the workers but when one complained that she was pregnant two of them were released and seven others detained at the Ocha Brigade torture camp and days after they were taken to State CID Awka where I met with the DCP who after listening to my defence and discrete investigation, asked me to write statement which I did and my staff were released.
“The factory which Ocha Brigade sealed, the DCP has sent his men to the factory to see the sealing as no business has been going on there for seven consecutive days now as it remained sealed and seven released workers are now hospitalized because of torture meted out to them at Ocha Brigade camp.
“The DCP expressed surprise that Ocha Brigade will storm my factory and seal it when I have both NAFDAC and CAC documents and immediately ordered that those seven be released immediately. Funny enough I brought out my latest NAFDAC renewal approval which I showed to DCP.,” he stated.
Condemning the invasion and torture, Dr Martins Iluyomade, Coordinator of NAFDAC, Enugu Zonal office, said it was not the duty of the quasi security agency to declare a factory illegal.
Frowning at the usurping of the function of NAFDAC by Ocha Brigade, he stated that, “It is only NAFDAC that reserves the legal mandate to approve and regulate importation, exportation, manufacture, sales and distribution of drug, cosmetics, packaged water and chemicals,
“OCHA Brigade, a state owned enforcement agency has no right under the law to takeover NAFDAC job, to condemn food, chemical products or arrest workers of regulated products but could draw their attention to such development.
Iluyomade expressed dissatisfaction that despite the factory prezenting NAFDAC certificate as evidence of compliance and approval, OCHA Brigade staff still acted illegally.
According to him regulation of food and drugs is in the exclusive list even as he warned that agency or organisation should know their limits adding that Nigeria is a country governed by laws and NAFDAC is the only agency that can confirm whether a certificate is genuine or not.
