NLC Leads Nationwide Protest Over Rising Insecurity, Demands Urgent Action from FG

NLC Leads Nationwide Protest Over Rising Insecurity, Demands Urgent Action from FG

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and its affiliates on Wednesday staged nationwide protests to draw attention to the country’s worsening insecurity, citing escalating cases of banditry, kidnappings and violent crimes across Nigeria.

The protests followed a directive issued after the NLC’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting, where the union described the nation’s security situation as deteriorating. The congress particularly referenced the abduction of female students in Kebbi State and condemned the alleged withdrawal of security personnel from the school shortly before the incident.

Despite last-minute efforts to halt the protest, including a late-night meeting between President Bola Tinubu, NLC leaders and state governors, workers across several states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) went ahead with demonstrations.

Addressing journalists in Abuja, NLC President Joe Ajaero said the protest was aimed at drawing national and international attention to the impact of insecurity on workers and the economy. He disclosed that labour leaders would reconvene with the President in January to further discuss financial insecurity, workers’ welfare and unresolved concerns.

“The protest is to help this country—to call attention to the effect of insecurity,” Ajaero said, warning that kidnappings and killings of workers and their families were crippling livelihoods and discouraging investment. He also proposed an ‘insecurity allowance’ for workers affected by abductions and ransom demands.

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Chairman of the Progressives Governors’ Forum and Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, said President Tinubu’s intervention helped open a channel for sustained dialogue with labour, assuring that increased investment in security was being prioritised.

Protests were held in Lagos, Abuja, Anambra, Borno, Rivers and other states. In Lagos, workers marched from Ikeja Under Bridge to the State House of Assembly, led by NLC Lagos Chairperson Funmi Sessi and human rights lawyer Femi Falana (SAN). Demonstrators decried restricted freedom of movement and growing fear nationwide.

Falana accused the state of failing to adequately protect lives, insisting that the right to life and security is non-negotiable. In Borno, Rivers and other states, labour leaders echoed similar concerns, rejecting any political motives behind the protests and demanding immediate government action.

Data cited during the protests highlighted the scale of the crisis. A report by SB Morgen estimated that kidnappers demanded over ₦48 billion in ransom between June 2024 and June 2025, while the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported 2.24 million kidnapping incidents between May 2023 and April 2024, with households paying about ₦2.23 trillion in ransom.

Labour leaders warned that unless decisive steps are taken, insecurity would continue to undermine national unity, economic growth and workers’ welfare, stressing that the protests were a call to protect lives, restore safety and rebuild public confidence.

NLC Leads Nationwide Protest Over Rising Insecurity, Demands Urgent Action from FG