KC concession crisis: Police break school gates, clash with workers

• Boy arrested for filming operation

The crisis over the planned concession of King’s College, Lagos, escalated, yesterday, as armed policemen broke open the school gates and confronted protesting workers resisting attempts to reopen the college.

A young man was arrested for allegedly filming the police operation, while members of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) stood their ground and prevented executives of the King’s College Old Boys’ Association (KCOBA) from gaining access to their secretariat for a scheduled press conference.

Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Fatai Tijani, led the operation to dislodge the protesters and force open the gates.

The confrontation is the latest escalation of a dispute triggered by the Federal Government’s decision to concession King’s College to KCOBA, a move the workers insist must be reversed.

ASCSN members had, on Monday, shut the gates of King’s College and disrupted resumption for the 2026/2027 academic session as part of a nationwide industrial action affecting the 120 Federal Government Colleges.

The union is opposed to the concession, arguing that handing the historic federal school to its old boys’ association would have far-reaching implications for workers and the administration of Federal Government Colleges.

The dispute followed a Federal Ministry of Education circular on the concession, which prompted the workers to declare that the school would remain shut until the decision was reversed.

Against that background, tension rose further at King’s College when policemen moved to take control of the gates and reopen the institution.

Earlier in the morning, the workers reportedly resisted an initial attempt by armed policemen to take over the entrance and forced them back.

The situation changed with the arrival of the Commissioner of Police, who led another contingent of armed personnel to the school.

But union members refused to vacate the entrance, resulting in a tense face-off as the police moved to force their way into the premises.

Treasurer of the King’s College Parent-Teacher Association (PTA), Emmanuel Abiya, alleged that the police brought a generating set and cutting equipment to break the locks securing the gates.

Abiya described the scene as resembling a “war situation,” accusing the police of using excessive force against workers who resisted attempts to dislodge them.

Lagos State Chairman of ASCSN, Olusola Omidiji, also alleged that an elderly woman was dragged and pushed to the ground when policemen attempted to arrest her, triggering a heated exchange between the workers and security personnel.

“It was as if a war was going on at King’s College today. The Commissioner of Police led a large number of armed policemen in an attempt to reopen the locked gates.

“Our members resisted every attempt to get them to move away from the gate. The presence of the Commissioner of Police was to enable KCOBA executives to gain access to their secretariat and his mission failed as our members stood their ground,” Omidiji said.

Despite the police intervention and the breaking open of the gates, the protesters succeeded in preventing KCOBA executives from accessing their secretariat and holding the scheduled press conference there.

The latest confrontation comes amid a widening industrial dispute over the concession, with ASCSN members maintaining their nationwide action in Federal Government Colleges and insisting that normal activities would not resume until the Federal Government reverses the decision.

The post KC concession crisis: Police break school gates, clash with workers appeared first on The Sun Nigeria.