The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) is demanding the immediate release of its detained members and seized documents following a raid on its secretariat.
The Nigeria Labour Congress has labeled the government’s recent raid on their headquarters as an act of war against them.
Leaders of the NLC, at a press conference convened in Abuja on Thursday, rejected the police’s rationale for their invasion and demanded an apology. Furthermore, they urged that confiscated materials be expeditiously restored and incarcerated persons discharged.
The government’s suggested reduction in the length of service for trade union leaders was condemned by the NLC as interference in their internal affairs.
They argued that this violation of labor laws and worldwide agreements.
Security agents conducted a nighttime raid on the NLC national secretariat in Abuja on July 7.
NLC’s representative Benson Upah revealed that agents stormed the premises around 8:30 pm and apprehended security personnel, coercing them to surrender keys for level two offices.
Upah alleges that security personnel, comprising individuals from the Nigerian Police Force and those wearing black tee-shirts presumably affiliated with the Department of State Services along with several others in plainclothes, descended upon NLC’s 10th floor. Subsequently, they arrested a standing on-duty security operative before leading him downstairs to request entrance to office keys.
Despite being informed that he did not have any keys to the area, the military unit still chose to forcefully break through the floor in order to gain access and loot hundreds of books and other publications from level two of the bookshop. The reason they gave for their actions was a purported search for seditious material connected with #EndBadGovernance protests.
Despite the DSS denying any involvement in the raid, as stated by their spokesperson Peter Afunanya, Inspector General of Police Kayode Egbetokun confirmed that it was conducted by police. He clarified that they had traced a suspected terrorist linked to Sudanese turmoil who reportedly frequented the labor building.
Recently, it was found out that one of them had visited the Labour House. I’m intrigued by all the buzz surrounding a supposed raid at the Labour House when in actuality there was no such occurrence.
According to Egbetokun, the shop was being used as a disguise by an individual whom they raided. He also mentioned that his team had been monitoring this person’s actions closely and found out that he played a crucial part during the Sudan crisis and is now inciting unrest among Nigerians.
Nonetheless, at the press conference conducted on Thursday, labor leaders rejected the police’s statement and maintained that the raid had not been authorized.
Although we possess barricades, it is important to highlight that our participation was not present in the #Endhunger protest.
Our belief is that the government should refrain from entangling us in issues of which we had no prior knowledge. Therefore, we implore those in charge to set free everyone presently detained, including Comrade Opalua Eleojo – a top-ranking NUEE official who was apprehended at a social gathering location situated in Abuja.
As per the NLC’s suggestion, it is advisable for the government to halt all further acts of intimidation targeted at both the Nigeria Labour Congress and citizens across Nigeria.
The union warned that any attempt by the government to interfere in its internal affairs would be considered illegal and challenged, citing a link between the raid and ongoing tensions with Labour Party as justification for their stance.
Our association received a menacing letter from the Registrar of Trade Unions, acting under higher authority, which referred to Section 15 (2) (3) (4) of the Trade Unions Act as justification for intimidating us regarding our affiliation with the Labour Party.
In an attempt to suppress our voices, they ignored crucial parts of the amended 1999 Constitution – specifically sections 39 to 40. They also disregarded key legal decisions such as the Supreme Court’s ruling on civil servants’ political expression rights and international conventions like ILO Conventions 87 and 98, as well as The African Charter on People and Human Rights.
The government’s attempts to restrict trade unionists’ terms in office to two years amount to unscrupulous meddling in unions’ internal affairs and go against recognized principles of Labor Law, as well as International Labour Organization Conventions.
