Anambra School Protests Invasion of Compound by Armed Men over Tax

David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka

The management of Kingsplanet International School, Awka, Anambra State has protested the invasion of their compound by armed security operatives over non-payment of signage tax.

 The school’s management while addressing a media conference said the security men attached to an enforcement team from the Anambra State Signage Agency (ANSAA) last Friday, barged into their compound during school hours to enforce the payment of signage tax.
Managers and teachers of the school, a nursery and primary school, said they were bullied by the arms bearing security officials, while the pupils were traumatised as a result of the brandishing of guns in their classrooms by the security men.

 Modesta Odu, a teacher in the school said: “Because they were carrying guns, we decided to close the doors of the classrooms, to avoid the children seeing gun wielding security men barging into the school premises, but the security men forced the classrooms open and commanded all the children to leave, that they had orders to shut the school.

“All the children were crying and running helter skelter, including the crèche section, which consist of very tender kids, but they showed no mercy at all.
“In the process of the pandemonium in the school, EEDC took light, but when we tried to put on the generator, so we can use the CCTV in the school to monitor the movement of the children, the security men refused.”

The Assistant manager of the school, Mr. Emmanuel Emeka, lamented the level of trauma experienced by the pupils as a result of the incident.
 “We begged them not to go ahead with their action as it will traumatise the kids, but they refused. You needed to be here to see how security men over ran this place.

 “Most parents who heard of it moved in to withdraw their children. Up till this moment, some of the children still express fear when visitors come into the school. We had to reach out to some parents to beg them to bring back their children.”
He expressed disappointment at the method the Soludo government intends to go about tax in the state. He said the team were in the school earlier to demand payment of N100,000 for four signboards mounted by the school.

“We told them we didn’t have up to that number of signboards, so they left, saying they will verify and get back, and the next thing we saw was security men.”
 When THISDAY reached the Managing Director of ANSAA, Mr. Tony Ujubuonu, he insisted the action was not by the agency, rather security operatives, who were enforcing a court order.
“The school owed the state government and was not willing to pay, we took them to court and got an order against them. What you saw was the enforcement of that court order. It has nothing to do with the agency any longer,” he said