THE NIGERIA LABOUR CONGRESS (NLC) DEMANDS APOLOGY FROM FCT POLICE COMMISSIONER

The Nigeria Labour Congress NLC has demanded an immediate apology from the FCT Commissioner of Police, CP Ben Igweh for violently disrupting a peaceful protest organized by the Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU).

The protest march was to commence at the Unity Fountain in Abuja and terminate at the federal ministry of education where a protest letter was to be submitted demanding the payment of salary arrears of workers in both unions which was withheld following a nationwide shutdown of universities in 2022.

A statement signed by the Head of information and public affairs at NLC, Benson Upah, said the umbrella union of workers would not hesitate to embark on another strike if the demands of both unions are not met.

The statement added that the behavior of the FCT Police is an affront to the 1999 constitution (as amended), ILO Conventions 87 and 98, the African Charter on People and Human Rights which guarantees freedom of association and speech and a violation of the Supreme Court ruling that citizens do not need the permit or approval of the police to peacefully protest.

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