NLC said “the response of the government to our queries will determine what our next line of action will be in the coming days.”
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has demanded a public apology from the federal government and the police authorities for the recent invasion of its headquarters in Abuja by police operatives.
The union rejected the police’s explanation for their operatives’ raid on its secretariat, describing it as an afterthought.
NLC condemned the police’s conduct in a communique issued following an emergency meeting of its National Executive Committee (NEC) held on Saturday to deliberate on the incident.
The labour union said Wednesday’s invasion of its headquarters was a deliberate and provocative government action.
“The NEC consequently demands apology from the police and the Federal Government on this once again unwarranted invasion and desecration of the headquarters of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC),” read the communique signed by the NLC president, Joe Ajaero, and shared with PREMIUM TIMES on Sunday.
Mr Ajaero said while the union would exercise restraint in the face of provocation, “the response of the government to our queries will determine what our next line of action will be in the coming days.”
The Labour union said the police’s explanation was “an afterthought and an attempt to cover the hidden motives behind such action as it raises more questions than answers.”
NLC’s General Secretary, Emmanuel Ugboaja, earlier disputed the police’s account of the incident in an interview with PREMIUM TIMES on Saturday. He also gave our reporter a heads-up about the NLC’s NEC meeting that was later held on Saturday.
Contrary to the claim by the police that their operatives only visited a bookstore within the 10-storey building where NLC occupies the topmost three floors to arrest a foreign national, Mr Ugbhoaja said the invading police officers forced their way into the union’s offices during the raid.
In the NLC’s communique, which also touched on the just-ended nationwide #EndBadGovernance protests, Mr Ajaero said, “The NEC-in-session rejects outrightly the explanation offered by the Police as the reason for the invasion.”
The NLC president said there has been “a pattern of intimidation, brutality, and deceit against the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Nigerian people” since the coming on board of President Bola Tinubu’s administration last year.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) similarly denounced the police raid on the NLC building in a statement on Friday, describing it as a shameful and lawless act.
NLC suspends operations amid safety concerns
Mr Ajaero, who said the NLC leadership would address a press conference on the incident, announced an indefinite suspension of the union’s operations at its national secretariat, citing increasing concerns over the safety of its members and the protection of trade union rights across the country.
He called for a forensic audit of the Pascal Bafyau Labour House, Abuja, a 10-storey building with NLC’s offices on the three topmost floors.
“Until this audit is completed, the NEC directs a temporary cessation of the use of the headquarters to prevent any unforeseen disasters that may have been intended,” he stated.
National mourning day, and other demands of NLC
Touching on the arrest and killing of protesters during the just-ended #EndBadGovernance protests, which began on 1 August in many parts of the country, the union called for the declaration of a National Day of Mourning for those who lost their lives.
“The NEC once again condemns the killing of innocent protesters who were peacefully expressing their grievances against the harsh policies of the government. We demand an immediate cessation of these attacks and call on the government to declare a National Day of Mourning for those who lost their lives and properties during the protests,” the union said.
It also demanded an immediate release of detainees and trade unionists “arrested either in their homes or relaxation joints”. It condemned what it described as attempts to frame innocent citizens on trumped-up charges.
“This is the only way the Government can show good faith and begin the healing of the nation,” said the union, one of Nigeria’s two largest umbrella bodies of workers’ associations.
The union also urged the government to engage in dialogue with stakeholders to address the root causes of Nigeria’s current unrest, including hunger, poverty, inflation, and insecurity.
It also called on President Bola Tinubu’s administration to confront systemic issues of waste and mismanagement and steer the nation towards unity and restructuring.
Background
The NLC announced on Wednesday evening that heavily armed security operatives reportedly invaded the Pascal Bafyau Labour House shortly after its NEC meeting ended around 8:30 p.m.
According to NLC spokesperson Benson Upah, the operatives broke into the second floor, ransacking the bookshop and seizing hundreds of books and other publications.
“The invading troop claimed that they were looking for seditious materials used for the #EndBadGovernance Protests.” he wrote.
While the NLC did not participate in the #EndBadGovernance protests that swept across Nigeria, the congress has consistently urged security operatives to exercise restraint and refrain from attacking protesters.
During a visit by PREMIUM TIMES to the 10-storey building behind the Federal Ministry of Finance in Abuja’s Central Business District, our reporter observed that there were no staff members or officials of the union in sight.
This reporter noticed that NLC’s offices on three floors, including those of the President and the General Secretary on the 10th floor, were locked.
However, the ransacked bookshop, reportedly owned by a foreign national engaged in photocopying and publishing activities, remained open following the incident.
In a telephone interview on Thursday, NLC General Secretary, Mr Ugboaja, confirmed that security operatives arrived at the Labour House shortly after the NLC’s NEC meeting.
He alleged that the operatives climbed to the 10th floor, where his office and that of the President are located.
On Friday, the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) confirmed that its operatives raided an office within the NLC headquarters building but not the NLC offices.
“Detectives, armed with the appropriate legal authority, conducted an operation at the location, which turned out to be the NLC building. This well-coordinated, lawful operation was solely aimed at apprehending the prime suspect–a foreign national implicated in numerous criminal activities across Nigeria and other African countries,” the police statement read.
It added that the operation had no connection with the NLC, its secretariat, staff, or leadership “and was strictly focused on a rented shop within the building used by the suspect as a front for his criminal activities in Nigeria.”
The protest came amid the #EndBadGovernance protests. NLC did not mobilise its members to join the demonstrations but backed the demands of the protesters, including the reversal of fuel subsidies reversal.
