Late Wednesday night, the national office of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Abuja was raided by security operatives suspected to be from the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigeria Police Force. The incident has sparked widespread outrage and condemnation from the labour union.
According to NLC spokesperson Benson Upah, the raid began around 8:30 PM after the office had closed for the day. The security personnel reportedly arrested the guards on duty, compelling them to surrender the keys to offices located on the second floor. When the guards were unable to provide the keys, the operatives forcibly broke into the premises.
Once inside, the security operatives ransacked the NLC bookshop, seizing hundreds of books and publications. The NLC has denounced this action, labeling it illegal and a severe breach of democratic norms. In response, the labour organization has called for an international investigation into the incident and the immediate return of the confiscated materials.
This raid occurred shortly after the NLC’s National Executive Council meeting, where members had criticized the excessive force used by security agents against protesters during the #EndBadGovernance demonstrations. The NLC views the raid as a continuation of the government’s aggressive stance against dissent.
In a statement released by the NLC, the organization said; “This evening 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.
“The security operatives, some from the Nigeria Police Force, some wearing black tee-shirts presumably from the Department of State Services 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 troops 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.”
