In a significant development, the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, announced on Wednesday that arrests had been made in connection with the recent attack on Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President, Joe Ajero.
Expressing concern over the ongoing industrial action initiated by the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and NLC, the NSA revealed that investigations had been launched into the incident. The statement, released by Zakari Mijinyawa, Head of Strategic Communication Office of the National Security Adviser, conveyed the NSA’s call for the labour unions to reconsider their strike and condemned the assault on NLC President Ajero.
The statement read in part, “The Office of the National Security Adviser is concerned by the declaration of a nationwide strike by the leadership of the Organised Labour led by the NLC and TUC… The NSA regrets the incident and condemns it in its entirety as it was against the rule of law and the principles of freedom of association and expression.”
Assuring the public of a transparent investigation, the NSA affirmed that details of the probe would be made public once concluded. He urged the labour leadership to call off the strike, emphasizing the government’s commitment to the dialogue process.
“As a fallout of the incident, relevant authorities were directed to conduct a thorough investigation… Some arrests have already been made in this regard. The Federal Government, through the Office of the NSA, therefore appeals to the labour leadership to call off the current strike action and allow the dialogue process underway to be exhausted,” the statement concluded.
