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Police stop NLC rally in Lagos
FRANCIS AWOWOLE-BROWNE, Lagos and COSMAS EKPUNOBI, Abuja
HEAVILY-ARMED
mobile policemen in Lagos yesterday aborted a scheduled rally of the state
council of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) barely a week after similar action was
taken against Labour in Abuja.
In the House of Representatives, spirited
bid by the leadership to get members to debate the Trade Unions (Amendment) Bill
failed, sending tempers rising as lawmakers insisted on seeing the principal or
original Act which the bill seeks to amend before debating same.
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftains,
Chief Audu Ogbeh and Tony Anenih were spotted at the House premises.
However, in the Senate, the much-expected
submission of the report of the Labour Committee which should consequently lead
to debate and possible passage of the amendment bill into law, did not hold.
Senators stood down all issues pending
before them in apparent protest against Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT),
Mallam Nasir el-Rufai who allegedly insulted them.
A combined team of anti-riot policemen led
by the commander of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS), Mr. Tunde Sobulo, stormed
the National Civil Service Union (NCSU) secretariat as early as 7:00 a.m.,
chased out the security men and some labour leaders on hand and shut the gate.
Determined to frustrate the
placard-carrying Labour activists, the policemen brought out padlocks and a
chain and locked the main entrance and them blocked the gate with their Peugeot
504 saloon car marked NPF 5094B.
The action caused a brief commotion as
unsuspecting motorists quickly turned back seeing the fleet of pick-up vans with
which they barricaded each end of the lame and cordoned off the area thus
forcing the motorists to take one way.
Undaunted, the protesters crossed to the
other side of the road and started chanting solidarity songs condemning the
anti-labour bill and the action of the police.
Leader of the police team later arrived at
the venue with a warning that the activists should not disturb the public peace
"because people seeing you in red cap with think there is a war".
The labour leaders demanded to know why
their secretariat should be shut when the rally was to be restricted to the four
walls of the secretariat.
Mr. Sobulo later ordered that the
secretariat to be opened with an advice to the protesters not to conduct
themselves in a manner that would cause panic among the public.
Speaking later, secretary of the state
chapter of Mr. Ismail Bello and the state chairman of National Conscience Party
(NCP), Mr. Segun Sango described the police action as an invitation to anarchy.
"Can’t we express ourselves again? What is
at stake is the right of expression here. This portends a grave danger to
democracy if it should be allowed unchecked," Mr. Sango stated.
Vowing that they would not give up the
struggle against the anti-labour bill until the National Assembly throws it out,
he noted that the rights of the people were being trampled upon by a democratic
government which should not be condoned.
Representatives of the labour leaders were
later escorted out of the State House of Assembly to deliver a letter to the
Speaker, Hon. Jokotola Pelumi, on their position on the labour bill.
In the letter signed by Mr. Bello, they
indicated that the labour bill contradicted section 40 of the constitution which
gives the right of expression and association to the people.
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