Nationwide protests erupt as NLC, Sowore rally workers against insecurity, rising hardship

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on Wednesday staged a nationwide protest across Abuja, Lagos, Anambra and other states, condemning the worsening security situation and deepening economic hardship confronting workers and ordinary Nigerians.

The demonstrations went ahead despite a late-night meeting between President Bola Tinubu and the NLC leadership on Tuesday, which labour leaders said failed to produce concrete commitments capable of stopping the action. NLC President, Joe Ajaero, led the protest in Abuja, joined by civil society activists, including Omoyele Sowore and members of the Revolution Now Movement.

At the NLC Secretariat in Abuja, protesters carried placards and chanted slogans demanding decisive action against kidnappings, banditry and violent crimes spreading across the country. Similar scenes played out in Lagos, where workers gathered in Ikeja to express anger over growing insecurity and the soaring cost of living.

The protest followed a resolution of the NLC’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held on December 4, 2025. The congress said the action was prompted by escalating violence nationwide and unresolved agreements with the Federal Government, alongside rising food prices, transport costs and shrinking incomes.

Labour leaders cited recent high-profile attacks, including the abduction of 24 schoolgirls in Kebbi State on November 17, during which two school staff were killed. The NLC condemned what it described as security lapses surrounding the incident and warned that workers and their families now live in constant fear.

In Anambra State, NLC members and affiliate unions marched through Awka in a rally that began at the Labour House at Regina Caeli Junction and ended at UNIZIK Junction. Addressing protesters, the state NLC chairman, Humphrey Nwafor, described the protest as a patriotic intervention to draw attention to a crisis threatening national stability.

“Nigerians are no longer safe in their workplaces, on highways, in schools, farms or even in their homes,” Nwafor said. “Workers have lost colleagues, loved ones and livelihoods, while businesses are shutting down and agricultural production is declining.”

He added that insecurity has worsened inflation and transportation costs, placing an even heavier burden on workers and the poor.

The NLC stressed that the protest was peaceful and constitutionally guaranteed, insisting it was not a declaration of confrontation with the government but a call for urgent and coordinated action. The congress urged the Federal Government to strengthen security operations, improve welfare and equipment for security personnel, and adopt more effective strategies to protect lives and property.

In its notice to state chapters, the NLC also called on the police to safeguard protesters and uphold citizens’ democratic right to peaceful assembly.

“The surge in kidnappings, particularly those targeting schoolchildren, has reached an intolerable level,” the congress said, reaffirming its commitment to peaceful engagement while warning that continued inaction would deepen public frustration and economic distress nationwide.