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The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has condemned the police invasion of the complex housing the National Labour Congress (NLC) secretariat in Abuja.
In a statement on Friday, the Executive Secretary of the NHRC, Anthony Ojukwu, called on the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, to investigate the incident.
He called on the police authorities to identify and punish “the perpetrators”.
He said invading private premises without a court order is uncivilised and lawless.
He said, “in a country governed by the rule of law, such lawless behaviour is unacceptable and undermines the sanctity of private premises”.
“This act violates the fundamental principles of the rule of law and constitutional order that our democracy is founded upon,” Mr Ojukwu added.
He demanded that “the authorities take immediate action to investigate this incident and ensure that those responsible are apprehended and punished accordingly”.
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He said failure to take such a disciplinary action would erode the trust in law enforcement agencies to protect lives, property, the privacy and sanctity of citizens and their premises.
“We reiterate that our democracy is built on the pillars of human rights, rule of law, and constitutional order. Any attempt to subvert these principles will not be tolerated” and must be remedied by those responsible. The commission directs the inspector general of police to unravel the circumstances surrounding the invasion and hold the perpetrators accountable,” he said.
PREMIUM TIMES reported NLC’s announcement that armed security operatives raided its headquarters in Abuja on Wednesday night.
NLC spokesperson Benson Upah said the ‘heavily armed’ security operatives broke into the second floor and “ransacked the bookshop” and carted away “hundreds of books and other publications.”
Meanwhile, the police explained their raid on the premises in a statement on Friday.
They said the NLC was not their target but a foreign national running a private bookshop in the building.
The police said the foreign national is the prime suspect in an ongoing criminal investigation.
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