- Safiu Kehinde
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has faulted the explanation given by the Police Force on their invasion of the Union’s Office.
In response to the Nigerian Police Force’s explanation of the reason behind the invasion, NLC in a statement read during the Press Conference held today at their Abuja office, accused the police of playing on their intellect in an effort to divert attention.
Countering the claim that the Police raided the office in search for an international terrorist, NLC labelled the claim as contradictory, self-serving, and face serving.
They questioned the timing of the raid which occured hours few after the office was closed.
Meanwhile, the group challenged the Police to present the legal documents they claimed to have obtained to carry out the invasion.
The statement read in part “The police in subsequent media interviews said the suspect is “an international terrorist” with a long history of destabilization of nations including Sudan. The police made other wild and unsubstantiated claims.
“We find the claims contradictory, self-serving and face-saving and intended to cover up their blunders.
“What were the security personnel doing on the 10th floor when the shop they were after was on the 2nd floor?
“They said they were after this “international crook of foreign descent” and yet came hours after offices had closed.
“Between the materials they took away and the terrorist, which had more value?
“If the police truly had credible intelligence and if Congress was not their target, what was wrong in taking the leadership of Congress into confidence.
“And if they felt that would jeopardise the operation, couldn’t they have confided in the leadership at H-hour?
“The police now claim they had necessary legal documents for the raid. We challenge the police to tender those court documents. We pray they are not contrived or procured documents after the act of invasion.
“On the so-called “international terrorist”, for how long did they know of his or her existence? Shouldn’t we Nigerians hold the security personnel accountable for letting the suspect operate with carefree abandon?
“And if they just knew about this “dangerous terrorist”, wouldn’t this constitute a major intelligeence failure on the part of the police?
“The police and government should stop playing on our intellect. They should also stop diverting attention from the real issues that still stare us in the face ….economic policies that continue to unleash hardship on the people.”
In the same development, NLC accused the Federal Government of their failure to address the Union’s demands among which include an apology from the Nigeria Police Force over the invasion.