Violence against protest will trigger nationwide strike — NLC
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has warned that any violence against its National Day of Protest and Mourning on Wednesday could lead to an immediate and indefinite nationwide strike.
In a statement signed by its acting general secretary, Benson Upah, the NLC said it had received “credible and disturbing intelligence” about plans by “unscrupulous agencies and desperate political hirelings” to infiltrate and violently disrupt the protest over worsening insecurity.
“NLC has received credible and disturbing intelligence indicating a clandestine plan to infiltrate and violently disrupt the peaceful National Day of Protest and Mourning,” the statement said.
The labour union stressed that the protest was not politically motivated but a response to escalating violence across the country.
“These protests are a necessary and legitimate response to the escalating reign of terror unleashed on our nation,” the NLC said, citing kidnappings, abductions and killings amid what it described as government indifference.
Upah said the action was “not a mere procession; it is a collective act of grief… and a democratic demand for the fundamental right to life and security”.
He warned that the congress was aware of alleged plans to deploy armed thugs, describing them as “state-enabled terrorism against Nigerian citizens”.
“Any attack on peacefully protesting workers will be regarded as a direct declaration of war on the entire Nigerian working class and its allies,” the NLC warned.
The union reminded security agencies of their duty to protect protesters, insisting that citizens’ rights to peaceful assembly “must be respected and guaranteed”.
It also urged participants to remain calm and disciplined. “Do not be cowed. Do not be provoked… Solidarity is our shield,” it said.
The NLC warned that if any protester is harmed, it would shut down the country. “The NLC will immediately declare a comprehensive and indefinite nationwide strike… All wheels of production… will be shut down completely and indefinitely.”
Related to this topic:
