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| Wabba |
Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has described the killing of two of their colleagues in Nasarawa State as barbaric and uncalled for, stressing that an injury to one is an injury to allโ.
Comrade Aliyu Abdullahi Umbugadu and Rabiu Mohammed Hamza were killed by police bullets on July 29, 2016, while waiting to hear the outcome of their negotiation with government over the unlawful reduction of their salaries.
In a solidarity protest on Tuesday in Ibadan, the National President of NLC, Comrade Ayuba Wabba said their colleagues were killed in cold blood, while others sustained various degrees of injuries of the senseless shooting of the police.
The Chairman of NLC in Oyo State, Comrade Waheed Olojede, who read the speech on behalf of Wabba said โtheir murder and injuries violate every known decent code of conduโct, sanctity of life, rules of engagement and the laws of the land to which they are all subjected to.
โToday, their family members and loved ones have been deprived of their love, protection and cover. When these comrades were alive, or hale and hearty, life was not exactly rosy for their families because of the policies of the government. With their death or incapacitation, it is better imagined what they could be going through. Our hearts bleed.
โWe must say it loud and clear that these deaths and painful injuries represent not just systematic attacks on the rights of workers in Nasarawa State but all workers across the country. Indeed, these deaths represent the dark variant of this assault and must be resisted by all workers,โ he said.
The union therefore demands that:โ full justice for the injured and the dead by way of unbiased investigation, appropriate punishment and full compensation for the victims. The government of Nasarawa Stateโ must take responsibility for the education and training of the children of the dead and medical bill of the injured. The government of Nasarawa State should immediately release to the families of the dead all their entitlements to enable the families cope.
โThe government of Nasarawa State must commence immediately the full payment of salaries and pensions as at when due. Government of Nasarawa State, and indeed, all governments, should desist from unleashing the police or any other security agency on peaceful protesting workers or citizens. The systematic attacks on workers right across the country must stop. State Governors should live up to their responsibilities or resign.โ
Wabba said they have resolved on a peaceful protest until the government of Nasarawa and Nasarawa Police Command account for their actions.
