NLC Members Protesting 

The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has issued a stern warning to the Nigerian government, stating that its actions may precipitate a nationwide protest.

The warning comes in response to the violent police repression of a peaceful protest by members of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and Non-Academic Staff of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) at the Unity Fountain, Abuja, on Thursday.

According to earlier reports by SaharaReporters, the Nigeria Police, FCT Command, attacked members of the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of SSANU and NASU, who had gathered in Abuja to protest the ongoing withholding of their salaries.

As the JAC leadership began addressing the crowd at Unity Fountain, the FCT Commissioner of Police, Benneth Igweh, reportedly arrived and warned that the protest would not be allowed to proceed.

In a statement reacting to the police’s conduct and violent repression, the National Secretary of the NLC emphasised that Nigeria is not a police state.

The NLC warned that if the police’s intention was to intimidate and scare workers who are legally protesting, then they had chosen the wrong opponents.

The statement titled “government is courting a major national protest,” was signed by NLC’s Head of Information and Public Affairs, Comrade Benson Upah.

“The FCT Police Command Commissioner, Compol Bennett Igweh deservedly earned our outrage and contempt by violently breaking up a peaceful protest at Unity Fountain on Thursday, July 18, 2024 by members of two of our affiliates, NASU and SSANU.

“Compol Igweh caused to be deployed to the venue of the protest, armoured tanks, assault dogs and police personnel in battle gear who broke up the peaceful protest using excessive force and other hostile means.”

The Labour Union, maintained that the behaviour of the police, is an affront to the 1999 constitution (as amended), ILO Conventions 87 and 98 and African Charter on People and Human Rights which guarantee freedom of association and speech; a violation of the Supreme Court ruling that citizens do not need the permit or approval of the police to peacefully protest and an insult to the dignity of self-respecting and law-abiding citizens.

“We need to let the powers that be, especially Compol Igweh and those who sent him that we are not in a Police State and if his intentions are to scare and intimidate workers protesting under the law, then they have picked on wrong customers.”

Upah reminded the government that the Organised Labour fought for this democracy, warning that they will not fold hands and allow “intestinal-minded people destroy it”.

He said that NLC was concerned that officers like Compol Igweh who should be inspiring a new generation of officers away from the colonial traditions of policing are the ones leading the charge into the abyss.

The statement partly read: “We want to assure him and his ilks that no one will bestow on him a medal for his unprofessional and disgusting behaviour. However, in the event he finds himself as one of the beneficiaries this new bizarre bazaar of self-bemedalling, we say ahead of time that it is not a medal to wear with honour.

“Under Compol Igweh’s watch, FCT has been crawling with bandits, criminals and crooks (both in low and high places) even in the heart of the city. Life has never been this frightening for law-abiding citizens. Instead of training the turrets of his armoured tanks on these social misfits, it is peaceful workers that are his victims.

“Igwe does not need to go far for a refresher course on safe-guarding FCT. One of his predecessors who is now a DIG (who rid Abuja of crime and still related well with citizens) is only an ear-shot away at Louis Edet House.”

The statement noted that the reason for the peaceful protest by NASU and SSANU is well known which is against non-payment of their four-months withheld salaries after workers in other unions had been paid for the same strike action.

“The two unions had exhausted all means lawful over a long stretch of time including a warning strike as means for getting their salaries paid.

“But clearly, government took their maturity and patience for granted. What government failed to realise was that it was not only imperilling the tranquillity in the university education environment, it was acting in violation of the constitution which says no citizen should be discriminated against!

“If government and the police are proud law breakers, what moral justification do they have to expect others to be of good behaviour!”

It added, “In light of this, we demand an immediate police apology to NASU and SSANU members whom they violated.

“We also demand the immediate payment of the withheld salaries. We had had cause to write to government as well as issued a press statement on this matter in the recent past.

“Government will be courting a major national industrial protest if it continues to ignore our wise counsel.”

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