The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) headquarters in Abuja was raided by armed security personnel from the Department of State Services on Wednesday evening.
The agents, sources in the NLC said, broke into several floors, seizing books and files, allegedly used to organize the #EndBadGovernance protests.
Earlier, the NLC’s National Executive Council (NEC) had condemned the government’s policies, blaming them for the economic crisis.
In a statement, signed by its President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, and Comrade Emmanuel Ugboaja, the General Secretary, the NEC called for reforms prioritizing citizens’ welfare, job creation, and fair resource distribution.
The NEC also directed workers to take protective measures and maintain non-violent protests as they demand change.
Meanwhile, the incident highlights the escalating tensions between the government and labor groups amidst growing unrest.
In the three-page communique, the NEC stated, “The NLC remains committed to defending the rights and welfare of Nigerian workers and the broader population,” it said. “We will not relent in our efforts to ensure that justice, equity, and good governance prevail in our nation.”
It mandated the national leadership to decide on a date to be set aside as a National Day of Mourning in honour of those killed or injured in the protests.
The NEC further called for an independent investigation into the attacks on the protesters, affirming that those responsible for them must be held accountable, and justice must be served to the victims and their families, and the peaceful protesters being held freed without delay.
“The NEC-in-session urges the federal government to engage in meaningful dialogue with representatives of the protesters, civil society organizations, and other stakeholders to resolve all the issues at stake to end the national carnage,” the communique said. “This is to avoid NLC being compelled [to] direct its members to stay home for the safety of their lives.”
The NEC-in-session observed that the government can only stop a democratic protest by concrete actions and reasonable dialogue, and not by threatening the people who are already losing their lives on account of the unrepentant massacre of unarmed protesters by the police.
The NLC reminded the government that it had previously warned it about the consequences of adopting the anti-poor advice of the World Bank and IMF when it announced the removal of petrol subsidy policy last May without putting adequate safeguards in place to mitigate the suffering that it would heap on the people.
Efforts to speak with the DSS spokesman Dr Peter Afunanya on the reason behind the raid, were unsuccessful as he did not take his calls or respond to a text message as at the time of filing this report.
