…As LAWAN flays attack by security agents
Following Wednesday’s night invasion of the Labour House, the Headquarters of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, the leaders of Congress have summoned an emergency National Executive Council, NEC, meeting for tomorrow.
This came as Labour Writers Association of Nigeria, LAWAN, joined the growing list of concerned organisations and individuals condemning the invasion.
Recall that heavily armed Policemen and others in mufti had late Wednesday night invaded the NLC Headquarters, Abuja, commonly known as Labour House.
The stern looking policemen stormed the Labour House some few minutes to 9 pm and ransacked both the Second and 10th floors.
According to information, “They broke into second floor and ransacked offices including a bookshop and carted away several materials including books claiming that the materials were used to incite and organise the recent protest.”
Vanguard gathered that the NEC meeting is scheduled for 4 pm “to enable Labour leaders determine appropriate response to the invasion and related matters.”
It gathered that the meeting would be virtual.
LAWAN flays attack
Meanwhile, LAWAN in a statement its by Chairman and Secretary, Toba Agboola and Adenike Ajiboye respectively , among others said “All lovers of democracy and rule of law should condemn this dastardly action of the nation’s law enforcement agents who took laws into their hands to invade the NLC Headquaters.
“This act is in flagrant violation of fundamental human rights as enshrined in the 1999 constitution as amended. It is unfair, unjust and unacceptable.
“This show of shame must stop to save our hard earned democracy.
Nigeria remains a democratic country, and it is incumbent on the government to uphold democratic values in all its actions.
“Intimidation, harassment, and invasions of trade union Secretariats are not the path to achieving stated objectives.
LAWAN calls on all well-meaning Nigerians to unite in condemning such actions and safeguarding the country’s democratic values.”
Giving the details of the incident,
NLC’s Head of Media and Public Relations, Benson Upah, in a statement read in said: This evening (Wednesday ) at about 8.30pm 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.”
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