Policemen, armed to the teeth swooped on the Labour House, otherwise known as Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) headquarters in Abuja, on Wednesday night, around 9 pm.
“They broke into the second floor and ransacked books at the bookshop carrying all the materials into their van claiming that the materials were used to incite and organise the recent protest.”
The raid is coming on the heels of the union’s condemnation of the Bola Tinubu administration’s handling of the ongoing nationwide hunger protest.
Although the reason for the invasion is not known officially, analysts believed that it could be connected to the criticism of the Police by the leadership of NLC over the killings of protesters.
Comrade Joe Ajaero, NLC President, in a statement titled “STOP THIS MASSACRE”, threatened that Organised Labour might “be forced to declare an industrial action to protect innocent citizens if the wanton destruction of human lives by the police continued.”
Meanwhile, NLC, in a statement signed by its Media and Public Relations, Benson Upah, demanded an international inquiry into the act.
NLC equally “directed all its staff to stay away from the Labour House for now until we are certain that there are no incriminating materials or harmful substances dropped in our offices by the invading operatives.”
The statement reads:
“This evening (yesterday) at about 8.30 pm long after the close of work, a troop of heavily armed security operatives invaded the Labour House, Central Business District, Abuja which serves as the National Headquarters and Secretariat of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).
“The security operatives, some from the Nigeria Police Force, some wearing black tee-shirts presumably from the Department of State Services (DSS), and others on outright mufti swooped on the 10th Floor of the NLC and arrested the security operative on duty and then commandeered him to the second floor where he was asked to produce the keys to the offices.
“When he told them that he had no such keys on him, they broke into the floor and ransacked the bookshop on the 2nd floor carting away hundreds of books and other publications. The invading troop claimed that they were looking for seditious materials used for the #EndBadGoveranance Protests.
“The Nigeria Labour Congress condemns in its entirety this new low in security operations in Nigeria. The armed security operatives showed no legal document permitting them to invade the premises of the Nigeria Labour Congress in the ungodly hours of the night.
“Even in the dark days of military rule, NLC secretariats were never invaded and ransacked by security agents. Today is indeed a very sad day for our democracy.
“Just this afternoon (yesterday) the National Executive Council, NEC, of the NLC took note and vehemently condemned the high-handed manner that which security agents manhandled protesters in many parts of the country and the needless bloodshed that ensued.
“We also condemned the sweeping mass arrests of those perceived to have led the protest. The NEC also frowned at the reckless use of ‘treason’ to describe the protest and demanded moderation. What we did not see coming was the invasion of the Labour House by masked and heavily armed security operatives hours later.
“In the light of the foregoing and the ominous sign it portends for democratic rights, freedom of speech and association and the unimpeachable right of citizens to protest peacefully on any issue they feel strongly about, we call on the international community to take note of the deterioration of democratic principles in the bid to turn Nigeria into a Police State.
“Given the experience of the leadership of the NLC in recent times at the receiving end of the naked brute force of the state, especially the near daylight assassination of the NLC President by security operatives and thugs, our fears of a Nigerian state that is descending into enforced brutality are well founded. We fear that the situation might deteriorate.
“Given the state of things, the Nigeria Labour Congress has directed all its staff to stay away from the Labour House for now until we are certain that there are no incriminating materials or harmful substances dropped in our offices by the invading operatives.
“To allay our fears, we demand an international inquiry into this very traumatic invasion.
“Finally, we demand the immediate withdrawal of the troop of invading security agents from the premises of the Labour House, Abuja. We also demand that all the books and materials carted away by the invading security operatives be returned unfailingly to where they were taken from before the end of work tomorrow, 8th August 2024. We make this demand given the illegality of the operation as there was no court order for the invasion, ransacking and looting of the publications.
If this harassment continues, the Nigeria Labour Congress will not hesitate to call on its members to stay home until their safety and security are assured. We warn that the asphyxiation of the public space and channels for constructive engagement, dialogue and negotiations in light of the excruciating difficulties that Nigerians are going through right now would only make matters worse. A stitch in time might still save nine!”