Millions of mobiles telecommunication subscribers using the Zain Network especially in Lagos, Ogun and Oyo states may soon run into difficulties as guards providing 24 hours security service to the company’s masts at various locations in the mentioned states are threatening to disrupt services in protest against the nonpayment of their salaries.

No few than 60 of the guards representing their colleagues numbering up to 1000 had gone on protest match to Indepeco Limited located at the Lekki area of Lagos last week to demand the immediate payment of their salary arrears.

It took the intervention of a detachment armed policemen from Maroko police station, Lekki-Lagos to avert what could have resulted in a serious breach-of-the- peace in the area as the company’s management closed its gates against the protesting workers.

The security guards were said to have been employed by one of the private security firms in Lagos (name withhold) and contracted to Indepco Limited; an engineering service provider to Zain Nigeria.

The Tide learnt that Indepco had secured the security service contract from Zain but chose to outsource some since security is not its core service.

Furthermore, this medium gathered that few months into the contract of providing services by the security outfit, Indepreco was said to terminated the contract and engage another private security outfit to take over the business during which most of the guards reportedly remained on the job as the staff of the new outfit that took over.

In competing the fees for the services as rendered by the first security company, Indepco allegedly excluded payment for the cost of providing security services for the most sites in Ogun and Oyo States, reportedly on the ground that there was no written agreement to that effect inspite the fact that the same engineering service company had provided the company with a comprehensive list of most locations both in Lagos and Oyo with an instruction to guard the sites.

The last week protest in front of Indepco’s Lekki office had lasted for several hours before the arrival of the police and there was no management staff of the company to speak with them neither was there any official to speak with newsmen who monitored the protest.

The company’s gate was under-lock-and key while some staff believed to be senior officials of the company watched the protesting guards from the floor of their office complex.

Some of the protesting workers, who spoke with journalists, said that they were forced to match to Indepco office since the company which employed them had not paid its service fees for months from which they ought to have earned their salaries.