NLC secretariat invasion: Opposition parties clash

Opposition parties in the country, on Thursday, condemned Wednesday’s raid on the Nigeria Labour Congress national headquarters in Abuja by security agents.

Recall that armed men, allegedly from the DSS, invaded the NLC office and carted away several documents.

According to the congress, the raid took place around 8:30 pm, with operatives reportedly breaking into the Labour House.

NLC’s Head of Media and Public Relations, Benson Upah, said the attackers ransacked the bookshop on the second floor, confiscating hundreds of books and other publications.

“The invading team claimed that they were searching for seditious materials allegedly used during the #EndBad Governance protests,” Upah said.

But the DSS spokesman, Peter Afunanya, denied the allegation.

“Please, kindly note that the Service (DSS) did not carry out any operation at the NLC office in Abuja,”Afunanya said

Opposition parties, in separate interviews with The PUNCH, condemned the action,

But the ruling All Progressives Congress urged for restraint, saying it was too early to rush to a conclusion and start casting aspersions.

The PDP Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Ibrahim Abdullahi, characterised the action as an attempt to suppress the labour union.

“What happened yesterday is condemnable. As a party, we do not subscribe to that approach. Security agencies shouldn’t be deployed to go to institutions of the state, like the labour office, to ransack them and then suspect or blackmail them into sponsoring what you call a protest. Nigerians are entitled to their rights. Nigerians can see through them and through the government, and they have decided that they will go on the street.

“It is condemnable. As a party, we do not support it, and we see it as a further attempt to coerce the citizens and get them into silence. That is just the attempt or the decision of the APC,” the PDP chieftain said.

Similarly, the chief spokesman for the Labour Party presidential candidate, Yunusa Tanko, also condemned the action.

Tanko said, “The action of the security agencies is totally condemnable. No one needs to come into the NLC office in a commando style. These are people who are accessible to you. At any point in time, you can easily walk into the NLC office and issue them a warrant and say you suspect something is going on and you want to charge them if you find anything incriminating. So what is all this showmanship of barging into the NLC office unannounced and saying you are investigating some documents? These are respected union leaders, not criminals.”