By Johnbosco Agbakwuru, Abuja

The Trade Union Congress, TUC, of Nigeria, Friday, told President Bola Tinubu to direct the Nigeria Police to vacate the national headquarters of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, without delay, describing the alleged forceful occupation of the Union’s Secretariat as unlawful and rape of the Constitution.

The National Executive Council, NEC, of the TUC said it found the defence of the Nigeria Police Force “and its reckless invasion and continued occupation of the offices of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW as act of impunity, irresponsibility, and a rape of the constitution.”

According to the statement signed by Comrade (Engr) Festus Osifo, President and Comrade Nuhu Toro, General Secretary on Friday said, “The Constitution which is the supreme law of the Country states in Section 43 that: ‘’Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, every citizen of Nigeria shall have the right to acquire and own immovable property anywhere in Nigeria’’.

“It goes on further in Section 44 to state that: “No moveable property or any interest in an immovable property shall be taken possession of compulsorily and no right over or interest in any such property shall be acquired compulsorily in any part of Nigeria except in the manner and for the purposes prescribed by a law”.

“Therefore, the forceful occupation of the NURTW Secretariat Abuja by the Police without any court order is illegal, draconian, unconstitutional and must be reversed forthwith.

“The statement by the police on Tuesday, August 30, 2023, claiming that its seizure of the union offices since August 12, 2023 was to forestall an alleged factional clash in the union, is laughable, in our opinion and intended to misinform the public.

“It is instructive to note that the police statement did not make any reference to its continued illegal occupation of the Lagos State offices of the NURTW, an affiliate of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC and their inability to enforce the order of a court of competent jurisdiction in the case of our affiliate the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria, RTEAN.”

It further said, “The TUC had in its 17th July, 2023 letter drawn the attention of the Inspector General of Police to the April 18, 2023 order of the National Industrial Court, NIC which is an appellate court, requesting the police to intervene in the violation of section 40 ordering the police to enforce the judgement in favour of RTEAN offices in Lagos, which is continuously violated by the Lagos State government, therefore the occupation of the NURTW offices in Abuja is a continuation of the unconstitutional occupation of the union’s offices in Lagos State despite subsisting court orders.

“Rather than maintain law and order, the police as in the case of the NURTW, is encouraging lawlessness and disorder.
The TUC advises President Tinubu’s administration to rein in the security services whose personnel are engaging in serial lawlessness and acts of impunity and call them to order without further delay.

“To avoid a situation where the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) and all our affiliates and Allies might be compelled to join the NLC our sister labour centre in solidarity, we demand that President Tinubu orders the Nigeria Police to vacate all union offices and insist that things be done in accordance with the laws and constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”