Leaders of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, have rejected the police explanation for the Wednesday night raid on Labour House, Abuja, headquarters of NLC, saying the police hierarchy is economical with the truth.
At the emergency National Executive Council, NEC, yesterday, NLC leaders demanded full disclosure from the Federal Government on the police invasion.
Congress leaders at a virtual NEC meeting contended that the government's explanation would determine the next line of action, describing the invasion as highly provocative.
One of the NEC members, who spoke to Sunday Vanguard at the end of the meeting, among others, said: "NEC members were unanimous in rejecting the police explanation for the raid. We believe the police are being economical with the truth. None of the police explanations added up. The more you try to rationalize it, the more questions arise.
"The police in their explanation, claimed they did not know that the building is NLC's headquarters. Lie number one: The police headquarters is very close to the Labour House. On several occasions they have deployed their men to the Labour House during strikes, protests, rallies and so on.
"Lie number two: The police claimed they were looking for someone on the second floor of the Labour House. But they first came to the 10th floor where they abducted the NLC security guard. When they finished their illegal operations, they took the security guard to the second floor. What were the police looking for on the 10th floor?
"Lie number three: The bookshop at the second floor known as 'Iva Valley Bookshop' has been in the Labour House for years and the operator is a very known person even to the police because some policemen come there to buy books. Why is it now that the police realize that he is a criminal and dangerous to the state?
"Why will the police carry out their raid at such hour when most workers had gone home? These are some of the questions begging for answers.
"We are demanding full explanation and disclosure from government. "The raid was very provocative. We will not act now, according to NEC resolutions, we will wait for the government to give full explanation. Our reaction will be based on government's full explanation.
"So, we totally reject the police explanation and demand full explanations from government for the raid."
Nigeria risks revolt, CSO alerts FG
A civil society organisation,
Nigerian Working Group on Peace Building and Conflict Prevention, has warned that if the socio-economic strains in the country are not resolved, there may be revolt.
The group lamented that the economic and social crises rocking the country are pushing citizens to the edge, saying President Bola Tinubu must recognise that many Nigerians were in pain.
National Coordinator of the group, Adewale Adeoye; South-West coordinator, Taiwo Adeleye; South-South coordinator, Werinipre Digifa; Middle-Belt coordinator, Abuka Omobaba; North West coordinator, Kudu Abubakar; South East coordinator, Fred Onijika; and North East coordinator, Lawan Idris, said this in a statement made available to Sunday Vanguard.
The coordinators stated that the group toured the six geo-political zones to engage social and cultural bodies to stem what it termed prospective ethnic and religious violence that could put the country in a worse situation.
They stated: "Nigeria faces three major problems at the moment: the national question which makes the definition of national interest absent; spineless corruption in low and high places and the complete break-down of trust in public and private life of the citizenry. These three underlined challenges are responsible for insecurity, violent ethnic clashes and armed rebellion in some parts of the country.
"Nigeria faces the crisis of ethnic identity in the context of the primitive scramble for resources, the distribution and ownership of national ad indigenous wealth. "
In this vortex lay the intra-ethnic struggle for control by the majority ethnic groups and the cries and agony of ethnic minorities who feel trampled by the political, economic and social structure that exclude them. Why individual ethnic minorities are given appointments, it does not automatically resolve the contradictions occasioned by the historic injustice they have experienced for decades which mere creation of states by fiat has not been able to resolve. Nigeria needs to address the fears and aspirations of ethnic nationalities in Nigeria through a new, people driven constitution where ethnic minorities are also real stakeholders and not mere end users of finished products, of laws, made without their genuine representatives.
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"Tackling corruption involves removing institutional obstacles that sustain graft like the bogus salaries of politically exposed persons, extravagance of the owners of private banks and financial institutions that perform public functions with public funds which they mismanage, their flamboyant lifestyles and their stiff neck resistance against modesty. Corruption does not only fuel underdevelopment, it is also responsible for poverty, human misery, extremism and terrorism. Nigeria cannot fight corruption where the law itself creates structures that promote corruption one example being the millions of funds allocated to law makers for constituency allowance apart from their bogus salaries. The situation is made worse by the fact that the process of emerging as elected leaders in Nigeria is marred by corruption and ineptitude which makes it difficult for credible leaders to emerge. We are indeed at a crossroad of dreadful consequences unless the leaders do the right thing. With inflation at 34.2, essentials of life beyond the reach of the common man, food lacking on the table amidst threat to food security in rural and urban communities, the threat to democracy is not in doubt."
