The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has confirmed that its headquarters in Abuja was raided on Wednesday night by security operatives believed to be from the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigeria Police Force.
In a statement issued by NLC spokesperson Benson Upah, it was reported that the security guards on duty were apprehended and forced to hand over the keys to the offices on the second floor. The operatives subsequently broke into the floor, ransacked the bookshop, and seized hundreds of books and publications.
The NLC condemned the raid, calling it illegal and a violation of democratic principles. The organization has called for an international inquiry into the incident and the return of the confiscated materials.
The raid took place just hours after the NLC’s National Executive Council meeting, during which members criticized the heavy-handed approach of security agents during the #EndBadGovernance protests.
In response to the raid, the NLC has instructed its staff to avoid the office until further notice and warned that continued harassment may lead to a call for its members to stay home until their safety can be assured.
The statement from the NLC read, “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 in black t-shirts presumably from the DSS, and others in plain clothes, stormed the 10th Floor of the NLC, arrested the security operative on duty, and forced him to the second floor where they demanded the keys to the offices. When he stated that he did not have the keys, they broke in, ransacked the bookshop on the 2nd floor, and took hundreds of books and other publications. The operatives claimed they were searching for seditious materials used for the #EndBadGovernance 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.”
