NLC Nationwide Protest: Police Deploy Special Forces, Drones, Tactical Teams as Labour Vows Total Shutdown if One Person Is Touched
By: Abudu Olalekan
Today.
Across Nigeria.
The streets hum with tension.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) isn’t backing down.
They’re marching. Today. Nationwide.
And the police? They’ve pulled out all the stops.
Special forces. Tactical units. Drones in Bayelsa.
Why?
Because when workers say “enough”, the government listens. Or should.
The NLC made it clear: no retreat.
“We are going on with the protest across the country,” declared spokesperson Benson Upah. No ifs. No buts.
He didn’t sugarcoat it.
“Any attack on our protest? We shut down Nigeria. Indefinitely.”
Strong words.
But the police aren’t playing games either.
State commands — from Benue to Jigawa, Sokoto to Imo — confirmed they’re locked and loaded.
Benue Police PRO Udeme Edet was blunt: “Tactical teams deployed. Every major area covered. We won’t let hoodlums hijack this.”
In Jigawa, Shi’isu Adam, the PPRO, said they’d stationed “adequate personnel on protest routes.”
Sokoto? They held meetings with labour leaders.
Imo? Maximum security. CP Aboki Danjuma didn’t mess around.
Bayelsa went high-tech.
Musa Mohammed, their spokesperson, dropped the bombshell: “Drones deployed. Tactical units on ground. No hijacks. Period.”
Kano CP Ibrahim Bakori? He sat down with NLC officials yesterday.
Gombe? “All arrangements made. Smooth procession guaranteed.”
Bauchi’s Habib Nafiu reminded everyone: “NLC members are educated. Law-abiding. They have a constitutional right to protest.”
Even Kwara State — usually calm — stationed officers at “strategic locations.”
And guess what? They’re holding a security summit tomorrow.
Theme? “Taking Back Our Communities.”
Because let’s be real: Nigerians are tired.
Tired of kidnappings. Tired of killings. Tired of empty promises.
The NLC isn’t just protesting wages.
They’re mourning lives.
Teachers abducted. Farmers slaughtered. Miners vanished.
Remember the 24 schoolgirls in Kebbi? Two staff dead?
The NLC does.
And they’re screaming: Enough.
This protest — tagged a “National Day of Protest and Mourning” — isn’t just about labour grievances.
It’s about the right to life.
The right to walk home without fear.
The right to send your child to school without praying they return.
The union listed the wounds:
Unresolved agreements with the Federal Government.
Soaring cost of living.
Universities crumbling. Staff allowances unpaid.
Health workers abandoned.
The World Bank dropped a chilling stat last October: 139 million Nigerians — over 60% of the population — live in poverty.
Sixty percent.
Think about that.
The Federal Workers Forum (FWF) didn’t stay silent.
In a fiery statement signed by Andrew Emelieze, they labelled the protest a “national assignment.”
“Nigeria is now a state of nature,” they wrote. “Fear is our daily bread. Governance is dead.”
They listed failures:
Public services dilapidated.
Health sector collapsing.
Federal workers owed months of salary.
Even the Joint Aviation Trade Unions Forum joined.
But don’t panic — your flight won’t be delayed.
Secretary Nnadi Hector clarified: “We protest, but services continue. It’s not a strike.”
Each union will send some members. Not all. Just enough to send a message.
“NLC calls, we answer,” Hector said. “It’s peaceful. Lawful. Fundamental rights.”
In Edo State, Prof. Monday Igbafen, Caretaker Committee chairman, directed full mobilization.
He also urged the state government to depoliticize the state NLC.
“We join the national outcry against tertiary education crisis,” he stated. “And the health sector industrial dispute? Unacceptable.”
So here we are.
Workers. Citizens. Fathers. Mothers.
Marching today.
Demanding security.
Demanding dignity.
And the police?
They’re watching.
Every street. Every corner.
Because one thing’s certain:
If this protest turns violent?
The shutdown Upah promised won’t be a threat.
It’ll be reality.
