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Prior to the raid, the shelves were fully stocked with books, as evident in a photograph taken earlier.
The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has demanded the immediate return of books, publications, and other valuables stolen by lawless security operatives during a recent raid on its secretariat in Abuja.
SaharaReporters had reported that hundreds of books from the NLC Iva Valley bookshop were emptied by security operatives following a raid by security agencies on the Labour House last Wednesday evening.
A stark contrast can be seen in the before and after images of the bookshop obtained by SaharaReporters last Thursday.
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Prior to the raid, the shelves were fully stocked with books, as evident in a photograph taken earlier.
However, a subsequent image obtained by SaharaReporters last Thursday revealed a starkly empty bookshop, "with not a single book in sight."
The raid has left the bookshelves bare, raising concerns about the motivations behind the security agencies' actions.
The police later confirmed that its operatives were behind the illegal operation.
In a press statement issued by Benson Upah, the Union Head of Information and Public Affairs on Thursday, NLC vehemently rejected the police explanation for the invasion.
"As a result, the Labour Union demands an immediate apology from the police and federal government for the invasion and desecration of their headquarters."
The statement titled, “WE WILL NOT BE INTIMIDATED; In the said communique, we rejected the police explanation for the invasion of our secretariat as well as made a number of demands including the following:
“1). The return of the books, publications and other items or valuables removed from Congress premises;
“2). An immediate apology from the police and federal government to Congress for the invasion and desecration of Congress headquarters;
“3). Immediate and unconditional release of everybody detained in connection with the protest;
“4). Government to stop criminalising lawful protests as well as put an end to the continued harassment of people who hold dissenting views to government;
“5). The convening of a stake holders conference to disccuss “pressing issues confronting Nigeria and chart a path forward that addresses the root causes of the current unrest——hunger, poverty, inflation, insecurity and widespread dissatisfaction with government policies”.
“6). Leadership accountability that ensures “systemic issues of profligacy, waste, and mismanagement that exacerbate the suffering of Nigerians” are addressed;
“7). We also promised to set up “necessary machinery to conduct a forensic audit of the national headquarters to ascertain its safety and continued suitability for the use of workers” before we ask our members to report to work even as we consider the invasion a deliberate act of provocation intended to draw us out.”
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