Members of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on Monday began converging at the NLC National Secretariat in Abuja for a nationwide protest aimed at drawing urgent attention to the worsening state of insecurity across the country.
Early arrivals at the protest ground included the NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, alongside leaders of allied civil society organisations. Also present were prominent activist Omoyele Sowore and members of the Revolution Now Movement, who joined organised labour in what was described as a collective stand against killings, kidnappings, banditry and the growing sense of fear among Nigerians.
Security presence around the Secretariat was visibly heightened, with personnel from the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), and officials of the Department of State Services (DSS) deployed to maintain order as the gathering progressed.
Protest Remains “Non-Negotiable” — Ajaero
Speaking ahead of the demonstration, Comrade Ajaero reaffirmed that the protest would go on as planned, dismissing any suggestion of a possible suspension.
“I am not aware of any contrary view suggesting that this protest will not hold,” he said. “The protest is meant to help this country by drawing attention to the devastating effects of insecurity on the lives of Nigerians.”
Ajaero made the remarks shortly after paying a courtesy visit to the Chairman of the 19 Northern States Governors’ Forum and Governor of Gombe State, Inuwa Yahaya, during a recent engagement in Gombe.
According to the labour leader, the protest is not politically motivated but driven by the daily realities faced by Nigerian workers and citizens who have become increasingly vulnerable to criminal violence.
The NLC President lamented that Nigeria’s persistent insecurity is not only threatening lives but also undermining the nation’s economic prospects. He warned that the worsening situation is discouraging both local and foreign investors.
“Insecurity is affecting even investors coming into this country,” Ajaero said, stressing that no meaningful economic recovery can take place in an atmosphere of fear and instability.
He explained that the nationwide protest is intended to awaken the government to its constitutional responsibility of protecting lives and property, while also addressing the broader economic hardship confronting workers and ordinary Nigerians.
Ajaero painted a grim picture of how insecurity has directly affected workers across sectors, citing frequent cases of abductions and killings.
“Many workers are being kidnapped on a daily basis. People are being killed,” he said. “In Kebbi State, for instance, the person who was killed was a teacher.”
He added that the impact of insecurity goes beyond the victims themselves, affecting families and communities.
“The children who are kidnapped are children of workers, so we need to ask the government to help fish out the perpetrators of these crimes and bring them to justice,” he said.
According to Ajaero, labour unions can no longer remain silent while their members are exposed to constant danger, forced to raise ransom payments, or plunged into debt to secure their freedom.
In a striking remark, the NLC President said the situation had become so dire that workers might soon begin demanding what he termed an “insecurity allowance.”
“Unless the government is interested in giving us what you may call an insecurity allowance, because most of the workers who are kidnapped end up borrowing money and looking for help to pay ransom,” he said.
He noted that workers are helpless in the face of armed criminals, lacking the means to confront bandits directly.
“We don’t have guns. We don’t have machetes to go into the bush to look for these criminals,” Ajaero said. “This protest is our own contribution the only way we can tell Nigerians and the international community that this situation must stop.”
Beyond government action, Ajaero also called for a collective national introspection, urging Nigerians to reject banditry, kidnapping and criminal violence as practices alien to the country’s values.
“This culture of banditry and insecurity is not the culture of Nigerians,” he said. “We must condemn it totally and overhaul our value system as a people.”
He argued that strong public condemnation of insecurity would also empower authorities to act decisively and restore confidence.
The presence of civil society actors, activists and allied groups alongside organised labour underscored the broader significance of the protest, which organisers say is about national survival rather than sectional interest.
According to NLC leaders, the demonstration is part of a wider push to force urgent reforms, strengthen security institutions, and ensure accountability in the fight against crime.
As the gathering continued in Abuja, similar protests were expected to take place in other states, reinforcing labour’s message that insecurity has become a national emergency demanding immediate and sustained action.
