Despite assurances from the Nigeria Police Force to provide security for members of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) during their two-day nationwide protest against hunger and poverty, operatives of the Borno State Command prevented members of the State’s chapter of the workers Union from participating in the peaceful protest.
According to LEADERSHIP, Nigeria Police Force personnel stationed themselves some distance away from the road leading to the NLC House in old GRA Maiduguri. The state’s Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Lawal Yusuf, along with other Unit Commanders, blocked the entrance to the Labour House, effectively preventing the workers from joining the nationwide protest.
Expressing frustration over the Police’s stance against the protest, the chairman of the NLC in Borno State, Comrade Yusuf Inuwa, stated that as of Tuesday morning, they had not decided whether to proceed with the peaceful rally due to challenges faced in negotiating with security agents, with whom they had been collaborating.
After disagreements between members of the Organised Labour and the union leadership, who insisted on proceeding with the protest, the demonstration was moved approximately 100 meters from the NLC House. However, policemen stopped them from advancing further.