The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has condemned the alleged raid of its headquarters in Abuja by security operatives.
A statement by NLC’s Head of Media and Public Relations, Comrade Benson Upah, on Thursday morning alleged that the security operatives visited its office on Wednesday after workers had left the building.
The NLC alleged that the invasion was carried out by a mixed personnel from the Nigeria Police Force, the Department of State Services (DSS), and unidentified operatives dressed in plain clothes and carted away books the security operatives claimed were used to promote the #EndBadGovernance protests.
The statement reads: “The security team, without presenting any legal documents, apprehended the security operative on duty and forced him to the building’s second floor. Despite our security men’s responses to their questions about not having access to the office keys, the operatives proceeded to break into the premises and ransack the NLC’s bookshop.
“They seized hundreds of books and other publications, alleging that they were searching for seditious materials related to the #EndBadGovernance protests.”
The NLC condemned the raid, calling it a severe infringement on democratic rights and freedoms.
The Congress emphasised that even during the military regime, such invasions of their headquarters were unheard of.
This action, the NLC argued, marked a new low in security operations in Nigeria and a dangerous precedent for the nation’s democracy.
