Nigeria’s organised labour alongside civil society organisations (CSOs) on Wednesday made good their threat to hit the streets to protest worsening insecurity in the country.
Led by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the protesters assembled at the NLC Secretariat, Labour House, Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) under massive police presence.
Joining the NLC President Joe Ajaero were civil society allies, such as Omoyele Sowore and members of his Revolution Now Movement.
Newsmata.com.ng reports that President Bola Tinubu had met with NLC leadership on Tuesday night in a bid to avert the protest, but Ajaero told newsmen that there was no resolution to stop it.
Ajaero, Sowore lead NLC protest against insecurity© Provided by The Punch
And in Lagos, the protesters trooped out in their large numbers marching from Ikeja towards the Lagos State Government House and drawing attention to what they described as the persistent failure of authorities to protect lives and property.
Carrying placards and banners with various inscriptions to convey their message, the protesters, comprising workers, activists and concerned residents, demanded urgent action from the Federal Government to stem the tide of killings, kidnappings and other violent crimes spreading across Nigeria.
Some of the banners read, ‘Poverty Fuels Insecurity: Create Jobs, Support Local Industries!!’; ‘FG! Action, Not Excuses And Rhetorics! End Insecurity Now!!!’; ‘Nigeria is Bleeding, stop the criminality now,’ ‘Security is a fundamental human right’; and ‘Federal Government, No More Excuses And Rhetorics. End Insecurity Now!”
The march, led by the NLC in collaboration with civil society groups, attracted workers, activists and concerned residents, as they moved through major roads in Ikeja en route to the governor’s office, calling for immediate and concrete measures to address the country’s security crisis.
A member of the NLC who spoke to News Central TV suggested that “Any kidnapper should be sentenced to death… They should kill them immediately.”
The demonstration, first announced after the NLC’s National Executive Council meeting on December 4, 2025, was in response to sundry national crises.
The NEC expressed concern over escalating insecurity, including the abduction of 24 schoolgirls in Kebbi State on November 17, during which two staff members were killed. The union condemned the withdrawal of security personnel prior to the attack and called for urgent government intervention.
