WE WILL NOT BE INTIMIDATED
Being the text of the statement read to the international press at Labour House, Abuja, Nigeria on Thursday, August 15, 2024.
We welcome the gentlemen of the press to this press conference.
You will recall that in our NEC communique of August 10, 2024, shortly after the raid on our secretariat, we promised to address the world press.
Today’s press conference is in fulfilment of that promise and it is intended to give you updates.
In the said communique we rejected the police explanation for the invasion of our secretariat as well as made a number of demands including the following:
1). The return of the books, publications and other items or valuables removed from Congress premises;
2). An immediate apology from the police and federal government to Congress for the invasion and desecration of Congress headquarters;
3). Immediate and unconditional release of everybody detained in connection with the protest;
4). Government to stop criminalising lawful protests as well as put an end to the continued harassment of people who hold dissenting views to government;
5). The convening of a stake holders conference to disccuss “pressing issues confronting Nigeria and chart a path forward that addresses the root causes of the current unrest——hunger, poverty, inflation, insecurity and widespread dissatisfaction with government policies”.
6). Leadership accountability that ensures “systemic issues of profligacy, waste, and mismanagement that exacerbate the suffering of Nigerians” are addressed;
7). We also promised to set up “necessary machinery to conduct a forensic audit of the national headquarters to ascertain its safety and continued suitability for the use of workers” before we ask our members to report to work even as we consider the invasion a deliberate act of provocation intended to draw us out.
We want to inform you that five days after these demands were made, government is yet to meet even one suggesting what we had suspected from the beginning, a declaration of a hybrid war against Congress.
For instance, in the days preceding the
End-Hunger protests, the Registrar of Trade Unions acting on orders from above wrote a letter of threat on our relationship with Labour Party, citing Section 15 (ss) 2, 3, 4 of the Trade Unions Act.
In their bid to suppress our voice, they forgot the provisions of Sections 39 – to 40 of the 1999 constitution (as amended), the Supreme Court decision on the right of public servants to hold political views, the provisions of African Charter on People and Human Rights as well as ILO Conventions 87 and 98.
Government is also frantically working to reduce to two the number of years trade unionists could hold office. This constitutes a gross interference in the internal running of the trade unions in violation of the corpus of Labour Law and ILO Conventions.
What concerns government with the tenure of trade union leaders?
But beside government’s dishonourable silence on our patriotic and well thought-out demands, the police have since come out to make further comments on the raid instead of an apology. These comments are deserving of our response.
A statement signed by ACP Olumumuyiwa Adejobi claims that the raid had “no connection with the NLC secretariat, staff, or leadership….but a prime criminal suspect in an on-going investigation ….traced to a shop within the building” which they claimed was on the 2nd floor.
The police in subsequent media interviews said the suspect is “an international terrorist” with a long history of destabilization of nations including Sudan. The police made other wild and unsubstantiated claims.
We find the claims contradictory, self-serving and face-saving and intended to cover up their blunders.
What were the security personnel doing on the 10th floor when the shop they were after was on the 2nd floor?
They said they were after this “international crook of foreign descent” and yet came hours after offices had closed.
Between the materials they took away and the terrorist, which had more value?
If the police truly had credible intelligence and if Congress was not their target, what was wrong in taking the leadership of Congress into confidence. And if they felt that would jeopardise the operation, couldn’t they have confided in the leadership at H-hour?
The police now claim they had necessary legal documents for the raid. We challenge the police to tender those court documents. We pray they are not contrived or procured documents after the act of invasion.
On the so-called “international terrorist”, for how long did they know of his or her existence? Shouldn’t we Nigerians hold the security personnel accountable for letting the suspect operate with carefree abandon?
And if they just knew about this “dangerous terrorist”, wouldn’t this constitute a major intelligeence failure on the part of the police?
The police and government should stop playing on our intellect. They should also stop diverting attention from the real issues that still stare us in the face ….economic policies that continue to unleash hardship on the people.
Given these realities, we still advise government to dialogue not only with leaders of the protest but honest Nigerians on the way forward instead of extorting endorsements or votes of confidence from people who are insulated from these hardships.
We demand that government put an end to this hybrid war against Congress. However, if government feels two years is the best tenure to go, it should be two years for every one including the President of the country.
We advise the government to stop meddling in the affairs of Labour Party even as it’s destabilization campaign against opposition parties has reached a crescendo. Our actions are guided by the decision of a competent court of jurisdiction.
The insincerity of government is so manifest. They claimed they were selling bags of rice at 40k and had to stop when the rice was being resold at 80k. Up till this mooment no one has been able to tell us where rice was sold at 40k.
We continue to demand for an apology from the police and federal government for the unlawful raid of our headquarters.
We are not aware of any terrorist in our midst. However, if government knows of one it should come out with facts and proof it is sure of instead of making the country the butt of jokes in the international circuit.
We challenge the police to show proof of our relationship (landlord-tenant or other wise) with this alleged terrorist.
The police claimed our security staff made statements to them. This is another falsehood. On the contrary, it was the police that signed a document at the main gate before they were allowed in.
We want to reiterate that even though we are the owners of barricades, we did not participate in the End-Hunger protest. Government therefore should not rope us into something we knew nothing about. Accordingly we ask government to release those in its custody including a NUEE executive (Comrade Opalua Eleojo) who was arrested at a social spot in Abuja.
We advise the government to stop further acts of intimidation against the Nigeria Labour Congress and indeed against the generality of Nigerians.
Finally, and although we have to the best of our ability done a forensic audit of our premises, we will hold the Nigeria Police Force responsible for any incident at our headquarters or to any of leaders or members any where any time.
Benson Upah
Head of Information and Public Affairs