Arrest Sponsors of Insecurity, NLC Demands as Nationwide Protests Rock States

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on Wednesday staged nationwide protests over worsening insecurity, demanding that the Federal Government urgently deploy “the full machinery of governance” to reclaim communities, protect workers and restore public confidence, while insisting that those funding insecurity be arrested and prosecuted.

In Abuja, the protest ended abruptly amid heavy security presence, as demonstrators were prevented from moving beyond the Ministry of Finance, a short distance from the Labour House. The action, which ran briefly between 11:15 a.m. and 11:39 a.m., took place while NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, and other labour leaders were locked in a prolonged closed-door meeting.

Earlier, Omoyele Sowore, leader of the Revolution Now Movement, was seen at the Labour House in solidarity with the NLC. Workers, affiliate unions, civil society groups and journalists had gathered as early as 7:30 a.m., but the protest was delayed pending directives from union leadership.

Ajaero dismissed claims that the protest had been called off after a late-night meeting with President Bola Tinubu.
“I don’t know when we should stop working with insinuation… Is meeting with the president the same thing as calling it off?” he asked.

Labour’s core demands

Ajaero said labour had repeatedly sought dialogue with the President on insecurity and workers’ welfare through official channels without response.
“Some of the discussions we wanted to hold with the president concern the issue of security—both physical insecurity and financial insecurity,” he said.

He disclosed that during Tuesday’s meeting with President Tinubu, labour raised issues including insecurity, strikes in tertiary institutions and the prolonged JOHESU strike. According to him, the President agreed to set up a negotiating framework for tertiary institutions and to continue engagement with labour.

On insecurity, Ajaero said Tinubu acknowledged the challenges but assured labour that efforts were ongoing.
“He also said he has pulled Nigeria out of economic hardship, which we said we want to see translate to the pockets of the workers,” Ajaero added.

The NLC president said the protest was meant to draw attention to the seriousness of both physical and financial insecurity, stressing that industrial relations issues should not be treated as security matters.

Deputy NLC General Secretary, Comrade Ismail Bello, said the protest was for all Nigerians.
“What we are doing today is not just for the benefit of workers alone; it is for the benefit of all Nigerians,” he said.

Similarly, NLC’s Head of International Department, Comrade Uche Ekwe, insisted that those sponsoring insecurity must be brought to justice.
“Those funding insecurity must be arrested and dealt with,” he said.

Alarming figures

The NLC disclosed that since 2009, over 2,295 teachers have been killed by insurgents and bandits, more than 19,000 teachers displaced, and over 910 schools destroyed across Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states. In the health sector, 35 per cent of facilities were destroyed in the North-East, while dozens of health workers were kidnapped or killed between 2021 and 2024.

Labour blamed insecurity on socio-economic injustice, corruption and poor funding of education and health, noting that Nigeria lost an estimated ₦300 billion during the 30-day JOHESU strike alone.

Protests spread nationwide

In Lagos, the NLC, civil society groups and human rights lawyer Femi Falana, SAN, marched through major streets, warning that the country was in serious trouble due to rising insecurity. Falana demanded the prosecution of over 400 alleged terrorism financiers reportedly arrested in 2021.
“Without jobs and tackling poverty, insecurity cannot be eliminated,” he said.

Similar protests were held in Kebbi, Osun, Kano, Enugu, Delta, Abia and Sokoto, where protesters marched to state Houses of Assembly, submitting letters demanding decisive action.

In Kano, NLC Chairman Comrade Kabiru Inuwa urged President Tinubu to urgently find a lasting solution to insecurity, while in Enugu, Comrade Fabian Nwigbo lamented that “nobody is safe anymore in the country.”

In Sokoto, NLC Chairman Abdullahi Aliyu described the protest as a “collective cry of anguish,” warning that banditry and kidnappings had crippled farming, trade and livelihoods across the North-West.

After meeting with President Tinubu, Ajaero said labour would “return to the drawing board” to decide whether to suspend or continue the protest.
“We will digest all that Mr. President said to us and move forward from there,” he said.

Labour warned that continued inaction would deepen Nigeria’s humanitarian and economic crisis, insisting that insecurity must be confronted holistically and without political considerations.

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