On Monday, the Federal Government requested that organized labour postpone its planned strike, which was scheduled to start today. The government informed the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress of a restraining order imposed on Friday by the National Industrial Court in Abuja.
At a news conference in Abuja on Monday, TUC President Festus Osifo declared that the labour action will start today, Tuesday, in retaliation for the reported November 1 attack in Owerri, Imo State, on NLC President Joe Ajaero by thugs.
Justice Benedict Kanyip, the President of the NIC, has forbidden the labour centres and their affiliates from going on strike in any way.
The judge issued the order after the Federal Government filed an ex-parte motion with the court, represented by Chief Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation.
In a conversation with one of our journalists, Kamarudeen Ogundele, the Special Assistant to the AGF on Communication and Publicity, cautioned the unions that any action committed against the court’s orders would be considered contempt.
He said, “A subsisting court order is stopping them from going on strike. Any action taken against the court order is tantamount to contempt of court. We wish to advise the labour unions and their affiliate unions on respecting the rule of law and the court.
“Nobody should take laws into their own hands. They should not resort to self-help, since the matter is before the court the appropriate thing to do is to allow it to adjudicate on the case.”
Speaking at the news conference, Osifo explained that all the affiliates of the NLC and TUC had been mobilised for the strike which might paralyse economic activities across the country.
Ajaero and other labour leaders had led a protest in Owerri, the Imo State capital, over the alleged failure of the state government to pay its workers, among other grievances.
But the demonstration had hardly started when the labour leaders were allegedly physically attacked by thugs who also disrupted the protest.
A strike declared in the state also failed to gain traction as the workers boycotted it while banks and other commercial centres opened for business.
Narrating his ordeal to journalists in Abuja on Friday, the NLC president explained that the police in Owerri handed him over to thugs who brutalised him.
Ajaero who wore a dark shade to cover his swollen eyes, said, “I can’t explain the beating I received. They tied my hands and dragged me on the floor like a common criminal. I am not even a card-carrying member of any political party as alleged.”
The state Governor, Hope Uzodimma, had accused the labour leader of meddling in the affairs of the state, hinting that Ajaero’s action was politically motivated.
The Imo State Police Command had claimed that the NLC president was taken into protective custody to save him from a mob attack.
The incident was widely condemned by prominent Nigerians and civil society organisations, including the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, and human rights lawyer, Mr Femi Falana, SAN.
In response to the alleged maltreatment of the union leader, the organised Labour directed the aviation workers to shut down the Owerri airport.
On Thursday, the labour leaders picketed the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja and grounded all Owerri-bound flights in Abuja and at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
Source: The Punch
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