The ongoing confrontation between the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) seem far from resolution as the union has yet again accused the force of intimidation and unwarranted intrusion. In a new development, the NLC on Friday accused the police force of laying siege to the national headquarters of the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) at Ikeja, Lagos State......See Full Story>>.....See Full Story>>
According to the NLC President, Joe Ajaero, truckloads of men of the police force barricaded the CDHR headquarter despite not having been invited to ensure orderliness at an education symposium.
Ajaero said, “Reports available to us indicate that truckloads of police personnel have cordoned off the place (where a symposium on education was scheduled to be held) since the early hours of this morning.
“Given the fact that the CDHR neither invited the police nor lodged a report of a threat, we consider the police deployment an unwarranted intrusion and an attack on the right of CDHR to conduct its lawful businesses peacefully.
“From the alleged senseless killing of protesting citizens during the protests against hunger and bad governance, the police raided and carted away valuables from the headquarters of the Nigeria Labour Congress on Wednesday night.
“That three days later they are at the premises of another civil society organisation is suggestive of a calculated dark agenda.
“We are alarmed by a growing trend by the police to abridge the fundamental rights of citizens and organisations”.
He warned of reprisal if the alleged intimidation persists, adding , “Accordingly, we urge the police to pull out of the precincts of CDHR immediately and unconditionally”.
NLC noted that Nigeria is a democratic country where power belongs to the people.
“We would want to remind the police and those on whose orders they are acting that they cannot cow Nigerians into submission. Their powers do not extend to abridging the rights of the citizenry.
“We would also want to remind them that we are in a democracy and not a police state, we would similarly want to caution against starting an agenda that will be undemocratic. Let them pull out now,” added Ajaero.