By The New Diplomat Political Desk
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has condemned an alleged invasion of the office of the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) by operatives of the Nigerian Police Force (NPF).
The union, in a press statement issued by its National President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, described the alleged siege as unlawful and an attempt to intimidate the CDHR.
The CDHR on Friday raised an alarm over the alleged invasion of its national headquarters, Right House, in Ikeja Lagos by the Nigerian Police.
A statement by CDHR National President, Comrade Debo Adeniran, and National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Idris Olayinka, said that the Police laid siege to the Rights House in the early hours of Friday.
They said the Police prevented occupants of the building from gaining entrance. Reacting to the development, Ajaero, in the statement called on the Police to end the alleged siege on the office of CDHR.
The statement reads in part: “Reports available to us indicate that truckloads of police personnel have cordoned off the place (where a symposium on education was scheduled to be held) since the early hours of this morning.
“Given the fact that the CDHR neither invited the police nor lodged a report of a threat, we consider the police deployment an unwarranted intrusion and an attack on the right of CDHR to conduct its lawful businesses peacefully.
“Accordingly, we urge the police to pull out of the precincts of CDHR immediately and unconditionally.
“We are alarmed by a growing trend by the police to abridge the fundamental rights of citizens and organisations.
“From the alleged senseless killing of protesting citizens during the protests against hunger and bad governance, the police raided and carted away valuables from the headquarters of the Nigeria Labour Congress on Wednesday night.
“That three days later they are at the premises of another civil society organisation is suggestive of a calculated dark agenda.
“We would want to remind the police and those on whose orders they are acting that they cannot cow Nigerians into submission….their powers do not extend to abridging the rights of the citizenry.
“We would also want to remind them that we are in a democracy and not a police state.
“We would similarly want to caution against starting an agenda that will be undemocratic. Let them pull out now.”
