The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on Wednesday staged a nationwide protest over worsening insecurity, demanding that the Federal Government deploy the full machinery of governance to reclaim communities, protect workers and restore public confidence. Labour also insisted that individuals and groups funding insecurity across the country must be arrested and prosecuted without delay.
In Abuja, the protest was cut short after heavy security deployment restricted demonstrators from moving beyond the Ministry of Finance, a short distance from the Labour House. Although workers and civil society groups gathered in large numbers, NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, and other leaders were engaged in a prolonged closed-door meeting at the time of the procession.
Ajaero dismissed claims that the protest had been called off following a late-night meeting with President Bola Tinubu, stressing that dialogue with government did not amount to suspending labour actions. He explained that the protest was intended to draw attention to both physical and financial insecurity facing Nigerian workers and citizens.
According to him, labour had repeatedly sought engagement with the President since June through formal channels, but received no direct response until the protest forced renewed attention. During the meeting with President Tinubu, labour raised issues including insecurity, the crisis in tertiary institutions, prolonged strikes by health workers and the broader economic hardship confronting workers.
Ajaero said the President agreed to the establishment of negotiating mechanisms in tertiary institutions and committed to further engagement with the NLC’s National Administrative Council in January. He added that labour would review the discussions and collectively decide its next steps.
Labour leaders criticised the frequent involvement of security chiefs in labour disputes, insisting that industrial relations issues should be handled by the Ministry of Labour and relevant government offices, not security agencies.
Addressing protesters, NLC Deputy General Secretary, Comrade Ismail Bello, said the protest was not for sectional interests but for the survival of all Nigerians, noting that insecurity had destroyed communities, livelihoods and public trust nationwide. Other labour leaders said the action was meant to strengthen government resolve to confront insecurity and warned that those financing violence must be made to face justice.
The NLC highlighted the devastating impact of insecurity on education and healthcare, disclosing that thousands of teachers and health workers had been killed, displaced or kidnapped over the years, with hundreds of schools and health facilities destroyed or rendered inaccessible. Labour also linked insecurity to corruption, inequality, poor funding of social sectors and rising poverty.
Protests were held across several states including Lagos, Kano, Enugu, Delta, Abia, Osun, Kebbi and Sokoto, where workers and civil society groups marched to government offices and Houses of Assembly to submit letters demanding urgent action. In Lagos, human rights lawyer Femi Falana, SAN, warned that Nigeria was in serious trouble and urged the government to adequately equip and motivate security personnel, as well as prosecute alleged terrorism financiers previously arrested.
Across the states, labour leaders warned that continued inaction would deepen the humanitarian and economic crisis, stressing that insecurity must be tackled holistically, decisively and without political considerations.
