The resolution of the leadership crisis which rocked the Lagos State House of Assembly for seven weeks is a warning to the working class, youth and the poor masses of Lagos state of the danger that the increasingly totalitarian one-party rule of the All-Progressive Congress (APC) constitutes to civil rule. On January 13, 2025, Mudashiru Obasa and the Clerk were removed in absentia by 36 out of the 40 members who constitute the House of Assembly and replaced by his deputy, Mojisola Meranda.
Democratic Socialist Movement (DSM) statement
In moving the motion for Obasa’s removal, Femi Saheed, representing Kosofe constituency, accused him of gross misconduct and highhandedness amidst other allegations including “mismanagement of funds and lack of time transparency in his management of the House of Assembly funds” (Premium Times 13 January 2025). Despite the severity of these allegations, till this day, neither President Bola Tinubu, who reportedly felt slighted and undermined by being blindsided by the Assembly members before they removed Obasa, nor the Assembly members who made the allegations against Obasa have even bothered to ask for an investigation. The ruling APC has likewise not bothered to question Obasa. Neither the EFCC or ICPC which routinely goes after every petty criminal on the streets has bothered to even invite Obasa for questioning over these allegations.
Instead, at the insistence of Tinubu, the overwhelmingly democratic decision of the members of the assembly was unashamedly thrashed as Obasa was restored as the Speaker on March 3. Indeed, before then the security agencies, including the Police and the Department of State Security (DSS), who had initially protected the decision of the 36 members of the Assembly changed track once it was clear that Tinubu was not in support of it and shifted loyalty to Obasa who had just three other members lining behind him. For instance, on February 28, Obasa with heavy security successfully invaded the House of Assembly and held a plenary of 4 lawmakers in a show of shame that is unparalleled in the recent history of the State.
Unfortunately caught up in the show of shame are three House of Assembly workers who were alleged to have assaulted officials of the DSS on February 17 2025 when DSS operatives attempted to forcefully gain entry into the House of Assembly. We hereby demand the immediate and unconditional release of Ibrahim Olanrewaju Abdulkareem, Adetu Adekunle Samsudeen, and Fatimoh Oluwatosin Adetola and the dropping of charges against them. We urge the trade unions in the state especially the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN) to openly defend these workers and demand their release. They should also commence a political campaign involving protests and strikes until the workers are freed.
Indeed, workers have a right to defend their workplace in a case of invasion by alien forces. It is the officials of the DSS who should have operated with restraint and civility when they encountered civil resistance to their attempt to gain an entry into the chambers on the said date. As the DSS itself would later find out, many members of the public including journalists were genuinely confused about the objective of the DSS at the assembly on that day. Singling these workers out for punishment for a confusion created by the heated controversy over the leadership crisis in the House of Assembly is both unfair and unacceptable.
As expected for the ruling APC, the plan ab initio was to settle controversy as an internal family affair. This is because any serious probe into any allegation of financial impropriety will expose the entire APC as a party of thieves and rogues. Even the members of the Assembly who removed Obasa will not be spared as their hands are not clean. This is not the first time when cracks emerge within the totalitarian one-party rule of the APC in Lagos state that allegations of financial impropriety emerge against elected office holders but which are quickly swept under the carpet once the political interest of the powers that be had been settled.
This is why the attempt to cover this up must be rejected. The affairs of the House of Assembly are matters of public interest. To this extent, these allegations cannot be ignored or covered up. They must be investigated because it is taxpayers’ money that is involved. We therefore call for the setting up of a public probe panel, made up elected representatives of trade unions, civil society organizations, professional bodies, community and youth groups, to investigate these allegations not just against Obasa but all members of the House of Assembly as well as the executive.
For far too long, Lagos state despite its global importance as a modern city and the commercial nerve centre of Nigeria has been run as the private property of certain powerful overlords in the ruling All-Progressive Congress (APC) and who, by virtue of their political dominance, claim the right to extract rent on the state vide a variety of means. A statement made by the chairman of the unelected APC’s Governance Advisory Council (GAC) in Lagos State, Prince Tajudeen Olusi, made before the reinstatement of Obasa, regarding the crisis rocking the House of Assembly is relevant here. According to him, lawmakers “have no absolute power to remove and install their leaders” (ThisDay Newspaper 3rd March 2025). So, who really have the right to elect the leaders of the elected Assembly, the godfathers? What this statement really shows is how the kingmakers in the ruling party truly see the State as an extension of their sphere of influence for self-serving interest.
Suffice to note that as a result of this one-party totalitarianism, governance in Lagos state has become an exercise in organized deception. Today, the Lagos State government is one of the least accountable and transparent state governments in Nigeria. All its activities including the state’s annual budgets are shrouded in opaqueness while the state treasury is left to the mercy of party chieftains and kingmakers who operate like mafia dons. So bad is the situation that Lagos state government does not even care to respond to freedom of information requests from journalists and civil society groups seeking information about its finances. Right now, the state government is one of the parties arguing at the Supreme Court that it is not bound by the Freedom of Information Act in an effort to further shield itself from public scrutiny.
By all means, again the manner by which the democratic wish of the vast majority of members of the assembly was brazenly discarded and Obasa reinstated because of the self-serving interest of Tinubu and a few is a warning of the danger the ruling APC represents for civil rule and why a working peoples’ political alternative is urgently needed in Lagos state nay the country. Most of the old parties, like the PDP, are not an alternative, they also loot when they have the chance. We need to build a mass political party of the working class, radical youth and poor Lagosians to end the totalitarian rule of the APC and enthrone a new government that would be committed to implement a socialist plan to utilize the vast wealth of Lagos state and stamp out looting and leaders enriching themselves, in order to begin to meet the needs of all residents.
The action taken by the DSS in Kaduna state to sue Engineer Khalid Aminu for libel for speaking out about the torture he experienced during his illegal arrest and detention for over 60 days following last year’s #EndBadGovernance protest is vexatious and utterly reprehensible.
As the State High Court in Kaduna State prepares to hear a case of libel brought by the Department of State Services (DSS) against Engineer Khalid Aminu, we of the Youth Rights Campaign (YRC) consider it imperative to ask the DSS, Kaduna state division, to hands off comrade Aminu and desist from further raising tension in the polity through flagrant legal processes aimed at muzzling voices of opposition and legitimate dissent. Instead we ask the DSS to tender a public apology and pay adequate compensation to Engineer Khalid Aminu for arresting and detaining him for over 60 days illegally and in violation of his rights and civil liberties.
In the said suit which is scheduled to be heard on Tuesday 25 February 2025, the DSS is asking Khalid Aminu to publish a public apology in “two widely read National Newspapers and all his Social Media Platforms retracting the said Negligent Misstatement”. Also the DSS is seeking the honourable court to issue an order granting one hundred million naira as general damages against the defendant and 60 million naira as cost of action. In total, the DSS is seeking damages worth 160 million naira against Engineer Khalid Aminu for speaking out about his illegal arrest and torture last year by operatives of the agency.
Recall that Engineer Khalid Aminu was one of the key organisers of the #Endbadgovernance protest which rocked Kaduna state and several states in the country between 1st and 10 August last year. The protest which erupted due to the impact of the anti-poor and neo-liberal policies of the Tinubu capitalist administration on prices of fuel, food and the overall cost of living has become an enduring symbol of resistance in Nigeria as it highlights how citizens facing starvation and hunger due to terrible government policies can unite and organize to peacefully demand accountability.
Instead of responding to the protesters’ demands, the Tinubu regime embarked on widespread crackdown with police and other security agencies unleashing a killing spree which left about 40 Nigerians dead while about 2,100 others including minors were arrested and thrown into jail.
Khalid Aminu was arrested while mobilising for the protest and he was brutally beaten before he was taken into detention. While in detention, Aminu was denied access to his family and legal representation for several weeks– a reason why his family initially thought he was kidnapped not knowing he was wasting away in a DSS cell. After his release, Khalid Aminu, who still suffers untold physical and psychological damages from his experience, has been telling his story in the process exposing the sordid detail of the inner workings of Nigeria’s ruthless security apparatus especially the shadowy DSS.
This legal step taken by the DSS is not only an abuse and a waste of tax payers’ money, it is also an attempt to shutdown Khalid Aminu in order to cover up the brutality and torture that has become a routine of security operatives in Nigeria despite the country being signatory to numerous international treaties and conventions that forbids torture of prisoners and detainees.
We hereby call on the DSS to halt this reckless and vexatious effort to harass Khalid Aminu into silence.
WE CONDEMN THE VIOLENT CLAMPDOWN ON THE PEACEFUL PROTEST OF FEDERAL UNIVERSITY LOKOJA STUDENTS BY POLICE AND DSS OFFICERS
ALL THE DEMANDS OF THE STUDENTS FOR A SAFE CAMPUS MUST BE MET!
The Education Rights Campaign (ERC) sternly condemns the violent clampdown on a peaceful protest organized by students of Federal University Lokoja over the tragic death of 4 students of the school. While throwing our weight behind the mass of Federal University Lokoja students, we warn the authorities against any attempt to victimize students over their legitimate agitations for a safe learning environment.
Recall, that on Monday, 17th of February 2025 a shuttle bus containing 4 students and the driver was crumpled by a heavy truck which led to the death of 4 students and the bus driver, while the only survivor is in a critical health condition. Following this tragedy, students gathered to mourn their colleagues’ painful loss and demand a safe campus. On Thursday February 20, students gathered at the school gate to continue their peaceful protest for a safe campus. Just a few hours into the protest, the University management under the leadership of Professor Olayemi Akinwumi, ordered the indefinite closure of the school, asking all students to vacate the school premises by 12 noon. This meant that students had just one hour to prepare to leave, including those traveling long distance. This act is condemnable, and it is a sheer attempt to shut the voices of students. One would expect a responsible university management to rather begin the process of ensuring the safety of students instead of trying to shut down their voices. Also, the school management mobilized Policemen and DSS officers to unleash havoc on students.
The use of brute force on protesting students who had conducted themselves peacefully is an attack on democratic rights. The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Olayemi Akinwumi is an enemy of the students and an enemy of public education. Since becoming Vice-Chancellor, he has implemented policies that have led to excruciating pain for students. When students complained of the growing insecurity for those living off-campus, he did nothing other than watch students suffer and die. Therefore, his recent atrocity of mobilizing policemen to attack students doesn’t come as a complete shock to those who are familiar with his history of notoriety.
The Education Rights Campaign (ERC) reiterates the need for the demands of students, placed on the government and school management, to be met. There is a need to revamp the expressway and provide measures, including alternative lanes for heavy duty vehicles and trucks, to ensure commuters are not exposed to the daily danger that the highway now portends. In addition to the need to repair the road, a pedestrian flyover and overhead bridge should be constructed to ensure students and workers don’t have to deal with the daily dangers lurking on the road. Road safety officers should also be adequately positioned around the part linking the road to the campus while also constructing modernized speed-breakers. In the Education Rights Campaign (ERC), we believe that the school authority must drastically reduce the cost of school hostel accommodation and build more conducive hostels for students. 130,000 naira for a bed space is exploitation!
The ERC firmly stands with students of Federal University Lokoja in their struggle for a safe academic environment and against the tyranny of Prof. Olayemi Akinwumi.
WE PLACE THE BLAME FOR THIS TRAGIC LOSS ON THE INEPTITUDE OF THE UNIVERSITY MANAGEMENT AND GOVERNMENT
STUDENTS MUST FIGHT TO COMPEL THE SCHOOL MANAGEMENT AND GOVERNMENT TO PROVIDE MEASURES TO PREVENT RECURRENCE
The Education Rights Campaign (ERC) condoles with students of Federal University of Lokoja over the tragic loss of 7 students, who died under awful circumstances on Monday 17 February 2025. The deceased met a sad end when a truck crumpled the campus shuttle they boarded. Notably, the loss of innocent lives in this gruesome manner has become a frequent occurrence. This is majorly because the University management and government have not shown any concern beyond talks, neither have they shown any readiness to address the situation and prevent future occurrences. The university Vice Chancellor Prof. Okayemi Akinwumi, the Kogi state government, and the federal government must be held responsible for this painful loss.
The Federal University Lokoja is situated along the Lokoja-Abuja highway, something which exposes students and staff to the daily danger of commuting through this road which is in a terrible condition. This is what has been claiming innocent lives. Despite the severity of this situation, the University authorities and the government have not taken steps to ensure that preventive measures are provided. In addition to the need to repair the road, a pedestrian flyover and overhead bridge ought to have been constructed to ensure students and workers don’t have to deal with the daily dangers lurking on the road. Road safety officers should also be adequately positioned around the part linking the road to the campus while also constructing modernized speed-breakers.
It is necessary to state that many students reside off-campus because the University authorities have woefully failed to provide cheap, adequate and conducive accommodation for students on campus. For instance, hostel accommodation on campus costs about N130, 000 per student for a room to be occupied by 4 students, this is aside the terrible state of these hostels. This is why many students opt for accommodation outside the school. The University management, if genuinely concerned about students’ safety, must drastically reduce the cost of accommodation and also begin the process of building new hostels, commensurate with the population of students. These are the ways to ensure students are kept safe on campus and not exposed to unnecessary dangers outside.
We of the Education Rights Campaign (ERC) welcome the call of the students’ union for lecture-free days to mourn the deceased students. However, we strongly believe that the demands of the union should go beyond this. The students’ union is a democratic platform of students meant to protect their interest, a situation that concerns the lives of students must be treated with pertinent urgency. As a first step, we propose that the students’ union leadership call a general congress of students to allow students to discuss this sad incident and how to prevent future occurrences. The union must fight to ensure the university management and Government urgently provide adequate measures to prevent future occurrences.
Ogunjimi Isaac,
Deputy National Coordinator
Adaramoye Michael Lenin,
National Mobilization Officer
Are you dissatisfied with the situation of your school and interested in struggling to make it better and also make society better? Then join the ERC today as we campaign for a safe campus and a better education sector and society!
Neither APC nor PDP represents genuine interests of working people, youth and the poor people
The Democratic Socialist Movement (DSM), Osun State, hereby strongly condemns the violence that has trailed recent Appeal Court judgement over the 2022 Local Government elections. The violence, which has claimed lives and subjected the people of the state to unwarranted apprehension, was sequel to the judgement of the Appeal Court, Akure, on the local government election held in October, 2022 in the twilight of the Gboyega Oyetola/APC administration.
The judgement, which was against the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), is being relied on by the Gboyega Oyetola-led All Progressives’ Congress (APC) to demand the reinstatement of the erstwhile local government executives, purportedly elected in the 2022 elections but sacked by the Federal High Court. The Osun State government, relying on a different court judgement by the Appeal Court in a case between the Action People’s Party (APP) and APC, had opposed the return of the former council executives.
To us in the DSM, we view the positions of both APC and the Osun State government as self-serving and not in the genuine interest of the people of the state. In the first instance, both parties have no genuine intention of ensuring a democratic local government system.
For instance, Oyetola, who is now an emergency advocate of ‘rule of law’ did not allow local governments to have democratic elections in almost four years of his administration. He only conducted a sham election, in which only his party, APC ‘contested’, and ballot papers only had ‘YES OR NO’ as voting options. Worse still, the government practically paralysed the local government administration, with the state government cornering a significant part of local government funds. The so-called election was held after Oyetola was defeated in the governorship election, and few weeks before his exit as governor! Therefore, the display of sudden energy for ‘rule of law’ by Oyetola and APC is only a cover for their shameful actions.
Also, the Ademola Adeleke/PDP administration, despite giving some limited funds to local councils as a result of the Supreme Court ruling on local government autonomy, still has a firm, yet destructive, grip over the local government administration. The local governments are still unable to undertake any serious grassroots development or activities. The government did not allow democratic elections into the local councils in the last 2 years, rather using unelected caretaker committees and bureaucrats to run the councils. The decision to hold local council elections was not a free will of the state government but was a product of the Supreme Court ruling. Worse still, the planned local council elections are not democratic. For instance, the chairperson of the state electoral commission (OSSIEC) is a long-term lawyer to the PDP and Adeleke.
Aside all of these is the corruption that has defined both the Oyetola/APC and Adeleke/PDP administrations. For instance, the only major project of the Oyetola administration was the Ola-Iya flyover in Osogbo, which was actually a conduit pipe for looting. The flyover, which was less than 500 meters, reportedly cost the state over N2.7 billion. Worse still, the funds for the project was sourced through loan, with high interest rate. On the other hand, the road construction projects of the Adeleke/PDP government have been dogged by waste and corruption, as the cost of these projects are well overboard. For instance, the Lagere, Ile-Ife flyover, which spans less than 2km will reportedly cost the state N14.9 billion. Yet, this is a state where the government just employed 10,000 people on a poverty salary of N30,000 a month, under a youth volunteer scheme, Imole Corps. Worth noting also is the fact that the government now earns more than 300 percent in revenue than previous administration, yet major sectors in the state, including public education, water supply and sanitation, remain in a terrible state.
Therefore, the two main ruling parties are not fundamentally different. Unfortunately, the Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN) which could have provided a genuine alternative to the two main capitalist ruling parties has been undemocratically deregistered by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which is acting the script of the capitalist ruling elites.
However, we need to state that the call by the APC on the police to reinstate former council executives to their positions was a major instigation to violence. The party, in a hypocritical manner, had asked the former council executives to return even when the Appeal Court judgement did not give any consequential order to that effect, while there is a subsisting judgement of Appeal Court that upheld a Federal High Court judgement, which nullified the council elections of October 2022. This is more so that the same party conducted the shameful sham ‘YES OR NO’ elections in 2022 that led to the current crisis.
Yet, this is not an endorsement of the planned local council elections slated for 22 February, 2025 by OSSIEC. The election, based on the conduct of the OSSIEC, is only a ritual to return PDP to the leadership of local governments. This is only aimed at ensuring that the Adeleke government continue to have a firm grip over the resources of the local governments.
Furthermore, we welcome the strike called by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), which directed all local government workers to stay at home until the crisis is resolved, as a way of safeguarding the lives of workers. Yet, we enjoin the labour leaders to commit the same energy to the welfare interests of workers and retirees in the state.
Finally, we call on workers, youth, and the oppressed people in general to join the DSM in building a genuine political alternative to the capitalist ruling parties of APC and PDP.
CDWR DEMANDS REINSTATEMENT OF ALL SACKED WORKERS AND MEET THE DEMANDS OF WORKERS AND UNION
The Campaign for Democratic and Workers’ Rights (CDWR) condemns the management of Kaduna Electric for sacking 900 workers in response to legitimate demands of workers for better working conditions. We hereby demand the immediate and unconditional reversal of this unjust sack and the reinstatement of the 900 workers to their duty post without loss of pay. This unjust sack is in violation of redundancy rules as stipulated in Section 20 of Labour Act.
Recall that Kaduna Electric recently sacked 900 workers in one fell swoop in what the management called “right-sizing”. In reality however, the sacking was the management response to workers agitation for better working conditions and a rejection of management’s anti-labour practices. For instance, the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) has accused the management of Kaduna Electric of recklessly and illegally deducting workers’ pension contribution but pocketed the money instead of remitting to the Pension Custodian and Pension Administrator for five years. Also, there are no medical services for workers amongst other anti-workers practices. It was the extreme and autocratic response of the management that triggered the industrial unrest and strike that started on Monday February 3, 2025.
Even when there is genuine reason to declare redundancy, management is obligated to engage the union before embarking on any sack in compliance with Section 20 of the Labour Act. In this respect, the management of Kaduna Electric refused to engage NUEE, which makes its ‘right-sizing’ highly suspicious and unlawful. As a matter of fact, the workers of Kaduna Electric are over-worked and under-paid and so, there is no justifiable reason for any redundancy or mass sack.
We believe that the mass sack of the workers is aimed at beheading the union while undermining workers right to unionisation, and collective bargaining. The sack is also aimed at subjecting the workers to an atmosphere of terror and intimidation so that management can successfully impose on workers terrible working conditions aimed at guaranteeing huge profits for the owners of Kaduna Electric.
The CDWR demands that the management of Kaduna Electric should immediately reinstate all 900 sacked workers, remit all deducted workers’ pension to the Pension Custodians and workers retirement savings account, end all anti-labour practices and enter into negotiation with NUEE/workers as a means of resolving all pending labour disputes.
The CDWR calls on the leadership of NUEE, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) to mobilise for a sustained mass actions including a strike actions to force the management of Kaduna Electric to reinstate all illegally sacked workers and meet all other demand of workers.
CDWR SUPPORTS NLC-LED PROTEST RALLY AGAINST 50% HIKE IN TELECOMMUNICATION TARIFF
CDWR CALLS ON NLC TO LEAD A DETERMINED MASS RESISTANCE AGAINST ALL ANTI-POOR POLICIES
Campaign for Democratic and Workers’ Rights (CDWR) condemns the recent approval of 50% tariff hike in telecommunication services by the Nigerian Communications Commissions (NCC). This outrageous hike in telecoms tariff will worsen the already high cost of living and increase cost of doing business; thereby compounding the economic hardship faced by workers and the masses. It is for this reason, the CDWR is in support of the protest rally called by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and scheduled to take place on Tuesday January 4, 2025.
The telecom operators and NCC have argued that operating cost has increased and has made hike in telecom tariff inevitable. Telecom operators cited hike in the prices of petroleum products, devaluation of the Naira, hike in electricity tariff etc. Unfortunately, the telecom big companies like other big business capitalist supported President Tinubu anti-poor policies or did not oppose it but now use it as the justification for the increase in tariff, Considering the damaging effect of these neo-liberal policies, the reasonable thing to do is for the Tinubu-led government to reverse these policies. Rather than doing this the government and its private sector big business collaborators are hiking tariff, passing on the burden to the working masses and inflicting more hardship on the working masses.
It is not shocking that government granted every request of big businesses and IMF/World Bank to hike tariffs and prices for the purpose of guaranteeing huge profits for the privileged few at the expenses of the masses. This is so because it is a government run by big businesses, imperialism and their agents. Tinubu government’s consolidation on the neoliberal programme through hike in prices of petroleum products and electricity as well as the devaluation of Naira made the cost of living, production and services spiralling out of control, drove inflation to a new high and imposed an unprecedented hardship in the land.
The reason the Tinubu-led government and the private sector are emboldened to impose more hardship on the masses is because of the failure of the leadership of the trade unions to put up a resistance fight against anti-poor policies. The NLC leadership has failed to sustain resistance struggle in the past despite voicing an opposition to some of the anti-poor policies. Indeed, together with the TUC leadership, they practically did little or nothing to resist the petrol subsidy removal and the devaluation of the naira. It is not possible for the NLC to successfully fight the telecom 50% tariff hike without waging a determined struggle to reverse electricity tariff hike, hike in prices of petroleum products, increase in school fees etc. Hence, the NLC leadership should dedicate itself to leading a sustained resistance struggle against all anti-poor policies.
It is not enough to embark on a-day rallies across the country and go to sleep. For instance, the NLC and TUC leadership were opposed to electricity tariff hike but failed to resist it. The leadership of the NLC and TUC must change from its present lacklustre attitude towards struggle that defends the interest of the working people and wage a relentless and sustained mass struggle against all anti-poor neo-liberal policies including well-mobilised general strikes and mass protest. NLC and TUC leadership, workers and the poor masses should demand the nationalisation of the commanding heights of the economy and placed under democratic control and management of workers and community people. This is in order to make possible a judicious and efficient use of the collective wealth of the country for the interest of the vast majority.
SIGNED:
Comrade Chinedu Bosah National Publicity Secretary
NLC PLANNED PROTEST AGAINST TELECOM TARIFF HIKE: DSM URGES LABOUR TO ADOPT A COHERENT PROGRAMME TO SERIOUSLY DEFEND THE INTEREST OF THE WORKING CLASS AND THE POOR MASSES
Statement of the Democratic Socialist Movement (DSM)
Ordinarily, the announcement of the decision of the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to hold a nationwide mass protest on Tuesday 4 February 2024 against another increase in telecom tariffs is a development that should be applauded by all and sundry considering the decisively anti-poor, exploitative and provocative character of the policy. As is widely known, telecom firms operating in Nigeria have a legendary record of brutal exploitation despite poor service delivery.
Indeed, since the early 2000s when the sector was privatized by the Olusegun Obasanjo administration, the big telecom firms have been milking Nigerians of their hard-earned income while enjoying, for a period, all sort of support from government including tax holiday and numerous waivers. Today, Nigeria has some of the highest call and data tariffs in Africa despite poor call and internet services. Therefore, for the fat cats of the private telecom firms, after years of making record profits in Nigeria, to then lay claim to the unfolding economic crisis in the country as a justification for a 50 percent tariff increase is no doubt a provocation that requires a decisive response from the labour movement.
However, when placed on a balance of scales, the planned protest by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on telecom tariff hike while conveniently ignoring all the other neo-liberal attacks of the Tinubu regime on the livelihood of the Nigerian people over the last one and a half years, can only be seen, and justifiably so, as nothing but a betrayal of the economic interest of the working class and poor masses of this country who have been enduring one of the worst cost of living crisis in Nigeria’s history. So, it is no surprise that the NLC’s call for a protest has failed to generate any enthusiastic response from even within the ranks of the labour movement itself. This is because of lack of trust in the leadership of the NLC and a general feeling that, even when they call for action, they are not interested in any serious fightback. Due to labour leaders’ history of stopping protests and then making unpalatable deals, many also rightly expect that whatever action that is called may be suspended before it even starts so no one wants to invest energy and resources on something that is likely to be suspended at the last minute. And this is likely to be the case again considering that a meeting between the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the NLC leadership has been scheduled to take place on the eve of the protest!
Notwithstanding these justifiable misgivings however, we in the Democratic Socialist Movement (DSM) urge Nigerian workers and the masses to troop out in large numbers to join the planned protest on Tuesday 4 February 2025 not because of any trust in the labour leadership but especially because of a lack of it. By failing to join the protest, the rank and file workers would be giving a labour leadership that is ordinarily not interested in any serious struggle an additional excuse to completely fail to call for any action again in future as they would simply argue that workers and the poor masses will not respond. Therefore, it is important for activists at the rank and file level of the trade unions to do everything possible to move out rank and file workers to join the protest. We also call on the masses and youth whose socio-economic conditions would be further affected by a telecom tariff hike to join the protest at every state capital.
LABOUR ON CRUTCHES
As they say in Nigeria, whether a day would be good or bad is often known from the eve. Even before it starts, the planned protest has already run into numerous political and organizational obstacles. First and foremost, mobilization has been generally tepid with many leaderships of NLC State councils practically failing to mobilise. For example, the Chairperson of NLC Lagos State Council only sent out by 6:30pm yesterday, Sunday an invitation to a SEC and SAC meeting holding today Monday 3 February – the very eve of the protest of 4 February 2025. Indeed, in some states like Oyo, no meeting has been called to plan and mobilise for the protest as the state leaderships consider it wise to wait for the outcome of the meeting between the NLC and NCC first. To make matters worse, this so-called meeting between the NCC and NLC is not going to start until 5pm which means in the likelihood that it lasts far into the night, there will be completely no time for the state councils to mobilise should the outcome of meeting be so unsatisfactory that the NLC national leadership decides on going ahead with the planned protest the next day. There can be no better sign of unseriousness than this. Sadly, what this means very clearly is that what is being planned for Tuesday is just a token protest if it is eventually held.
Secondly, one of the in-house unions, Private Telecommunications and Communications Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PTECSSAN), has openly condemned the NLC’s planned protest and pledged its support for the 50 % telecom tariff hike. This unprincipled stance of PTECSSAN is an indication that the ideological and political rot in the labour movement has become a cancer that has affected every root and branches of the movement. Many trade unions in the private sector are under the control of union leaders who have ideologically capitulated to neoliberalism and the market economy and are in turn in the pocket of the bosses. PTECSSAN is an affiliate of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) – the second largest trade union centre in the country. It is not impossible that the union’s unprincipled stance is shared by the leadership of the TUC who have a more decidedly pro-market philosophy in comparison to the equally pro-capitalist NLC leadership. This probably explains why the NLC has been unable to win the support of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) for a joint prosecution of the struggle against the tariff hike.
Unfortunately, this division could have a big impact on the struggle itself. On the one hand, the NLC is weak organizationally with many state chapters under the control of union leaders who are card-carrying members of the ruling capitalist political parties in their states. This means that they often act as internal saboteurs to the puny attempts by the NLC leadership to muster a resistance to government anti-poor policies. On the other hand, it appears that the Joe Ajaero leadership of the NLC has lost both the respect and fear of the Tinubu regime as well as support of the Nigerian working masses – a logical consequence of the leadership’s class collaborationism and political impotence as the regime began its neo-liberal onslaught one and a half years ago. What all these sadly means therefore is that instead of tomorrow’s action serving as an opportunity to show the power of the working class, there is a risk that it might end up as a faint whimper that is not only too weak to stop the telecom tariff increase but that also serves to embolden the regime to feel even more invincible in its unrelenting neoliberal onslaught on living conditions and repression of civil liberties.
THE WAYFORWARD
Considering all the aforementioned, it is not too difficult to see that the stage has been set for another compromise. Most likely the NLC leadership will settle for whatever is won at the negotiation today and suspend action. But even if it goes ahead with its planned action on Tuesday 4 February 2025, there is all likelihood that the protest would be just a token demonstration.
Whatever happens, Socialists and genuine trade union activists have to be worried at the growing emasculation of the labour movement and what it means for the class struggle in Nigeria. In the light of the explosion of mass struggle last year under the slogan #Endbadgovernance as well as some workers’ strikes breaking out at different workplaces across the country on issues of pay and conditions, it is crystal clear that what is holding back the class struggle in Nigeria is not the unpreparedness of the working masses to fight but the class collaborationism of the leadership of the labor movement.
This is why it is necessary for a campaign for the rebuilding of a fighting labour movement to be launched right now. This is not a matter that can be postponed anymore as the fate of the entire country lies on it. This campaign which should involve rank and file workers, Socialists and activists will have as part of its objective the return of internal democracy to the trade unions, election of union leaders on workers’ pay, removal of unearned privileges from union positions, accountability in the usage of union resources, recall of all pro-bosses, pro-capitalist and corrupt trade union leaders and their replacement with those ready to fight for the working class.
Only such a trade union leadership can fight seriously to win concessions on pay and conditions for workers while also energetically taking up the struggle against all anti-poor policies like fuel price hike, electricity and telecom tariff hike etc. However, while winning concessions can bring relief to the working class and long-suffering masses, only the overthrow of capitalism and its replacement by a Socialist alternative can permanently rid society of the situation of mass poverty and misery in the midst of abundance. To do this will also require that a fighting labour movement works with Socialists and activists to build a mass workers’ political party to fight to wrest political power from the capitalist elite in order to end the inequitable capitalist system and bring into being a democratic Socialist Nigeria under which the means of production would be publicly owned and democratically managed to ensure that Nigeria’ wealth which has been stolen by the one percent is made available to begin to fix society and make lives better for all and sundry.
ADARAMOYE MICHEAL LENIN AND OTHER #ENDBADGOVERNANCE ACTIVISTS DO NOT DESERVE A DEATH SENTENCE FOR PROTESTING AGAINST HUNGER AND HARDSHIP
Being the text of a press conference addressed by the Youth Rights Campaign (YRC) on Monday 27 January 2025 at the International Press Centre (IPC), Ogba Lagos, ahead of the commencement of trial of Adaramoye Micheal Lenin and 10 others for treason slated for Wednesday January 29, 2025 at the Federal High Court, Abuja
Ladies and gentlemen of the fourth estate of the realm,
Please permit us to start on a joyful note by wishing you all a happy new year 2025. You were with us on the tumultuous journey of courageous resistance and brutal repression that typified the preceding year 2024. As press men and press women, you shared with us in the brutalities of the police and your democratic rights were equally repressed as ours by the rampaging dictatorship that the Tinubu regime has become. Many of your colleagues were assaulted, arrested, killed and disappeared in the course of carrying out your legitimate duties. So believe us when we say we are so much happy to see you alive an, healthy in the New Year 2025 even as we look forward to more partnership with you in the joint effort to continue to defend civil liberties and fight for a society that benefits the mass majority and not a few.
The reason we have invited you here today is to stop President Bola Ahmed Tinubu from sentencing peaceful protesters to death just because they dared to complain about hunger and hardship. Less than 72 hours from now, specifically on Wednesday January 29, 11 #EndBadGovernance activists, including a woman Angel Love Innocent, are due to appear before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja where their trial for treason, mutiny and terrorism will commence in full swing. According to Nigeria’s laws, treason is punishable by death. This means if found guilty, these noble men and woman whose only crime is their courageous participation in a peaceful protest in August last year against hunger and poverty caused by President Tinubu’s neo-liberal policies, face the possibility of being sentenced to be shot at a firing squad or hanged by their neck until they die.
Now some are likely to think that maybe, we are being caught up in a flight of fancy or our imagination is running wild. In reality however, this would not be the first time that the Nigerian capitalist state would sentence activists and peaceful protesters to death and carry out the sentence. Three decades ago, Ken Saro-Wiwa (a writer and environmental activist) and eight other leaders of the Ogoni people in Rivers State were also sentenced to death by a military tribunal under the ignoble Abacha military junta for peacefully campaigning against the destructive activities of Shell in the Niger Delta. Interestingly, Ken Saro Wiwa stood for a non-violent form of struggle and resistance. Yet this did not stop the Abacha regime from carrying out this brutal sentence. On the night of November 10, 1995, the Nigerian state shocked the entire world when it hanged each of the activists including late Ken Saro-Wiwa.
WHO ARE THE ABUJA 11?
The 11 activists who are facing the prospect of a death sentence are Adaramoye Micheal Lenin,Mosiu Sodiq, Daniel Akande, Angel Love Innocent, Adeyemi Abiodun Abayomi, Buhari Lawal, Bashir Bello, Suleiman Yakubu, Opaoluwa Eleojo Simon, Nuradeen Khamis and Abdulsalam Zubairu. They were all arrested between August 5 and 1st September 2024 in connection with the #Endbadgovernance protest which broke out across the country in reaction to the cost of living crisis provoked by President Tinubu’s anti-poor policies. After their arrest, they were initially detained at the notorious Inspector General of Police’s Intelligence Response Team in Abuja where they were subjected to cruel treatment, psychological torture, tedious interrogation without the presence of an attorney and sleep deprivation.
On Monday 2nd September 2024, Micheal Lenin and others were charged for treason, mutiny and terrorism and then remanded at Kuje and Suleja prisons. They were only able to secure bail on Wednesday 11 September 2024 and spent several additional agonizing weeks in detention while trying to perfect the bail due to the onerous conditionalities. In total, they each spent over two months in detention before regaining the temporary freedom they have now.
Since their release, one of the defendants and the National Coordinator of the Youth Rights Campaign (YRC), Micheal Lenin, has described how he was arrested and blindfolded on the night of August 5 2024 and driven round the Federal Capital Territory by security operatives on the orders of the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu. In his chilling report of the conditions of their detention at the IRT facility, Lenin described how they often heard gun shots during the night and how the detention facility is notorious as a torture chamber and slaughter slab. Lenin described how he was often brought out in the middle of the night for questioning while his cellmates feared for his life because according to them, bringing people out in the night for questioning was often a ploy used by the police to carry out unlawful execution of inmates.
It goes without saying that this kind of ill-treatment of political detainees amount to a violation of several international statute and laws including Article 5 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the United Nations’ Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. The ill-treatment also has severe consequences for the mental health of the victims. As we speak, several of the activists including Micheal Lenin, have been undergoing psycho-social therapy since they got out of prison due to anxieties and trauma associated with the ill-treatment and psychological torture they suffered while in custody.
Speakers at the YRC’s January press conference
OUR FEARS
Wednesday January 29 would be the first time they would be showing up in court after they were released on bail. To be clear, Michel Lenin and others have no fear of appearing before a court of competent jurisdiction to prove their innocence of the false, absurd and trumped up charges made up by the Nigerian Police and the National Intelligence Agency against them in a bid to paint the protest as the handiwork of Russia whereas it was simply the uprising of a people fed up by hunger and poverty.
However, we have every reason to fear that they would not receive fair trial unless the judiciary manages to surmount political interference to ensure fairness, probity and justice. Don’t forget that it took a global public outcry for the 114 malnourished and sick minors arraigned by the police on the same charges on Friday 1st November last year to be freed. Despite the obvious desecration of the court that day, the presiding Judge continued with the proceeding as if all was well and even had the presence of mind to commit the minors to prison detention. Even though the President caved in to public outcry and directed the charges against the minors to be dismissed, up till now, the Police authorities have not been sanctioned for this ignoble conduct and they have continued to defend their actions up till now.
For example, when Amnesty International issued a report late last year detailing the atrocities of the police authorities during the protest including the extra-judicial killing of at least 24 people, many of who were not protesters, we are all witnesses to how the police have tried to harass and bully the rights group in order to silence the truth. This report by Amnesty International has direct relevance to the case against the Abuja 11 because it provides incontrovertible evidence including victims testimonies that shows that while the police tried to paint the Abuja 11 as violent protest organisers out to cause mayhem in the country, those who are actually guilty of egregious violence, extrajudicial murder of Nigerian citizens and conduct likely to breach public peace are the Inspector General of Police and his men in the Nigeria Police Force. Right now the police have issued an ultimatum to Amnesty international to issue a public retraction and apology over the publication. Meanwhile, the findings of Amnesty International is supported by National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) – a body that is a product of an Act of the National Assembly. What is alarming is that while all this is going on, President Tinubu has kept a studious silence suggesting that he is not miffed by the conduct of the Police authorities in trying to suppress the truth of the repression of the #Endbadgovernance protest.
So, these are the bases for our fear that the 11 activists may not receive a fair trial. Rather we fear that the trial, just like the military tribunal that sentenced Saro Wiwa and Co 30 years ago, already has a conclusion it is working towards. However, should the judiciary regain the courage to be fair and just, then it should not be difficult for honorable Justice Emeka Nwite to see that the case against the 11 #Endbadgovernance activists is an absurd, false and trumped-up contrivance by a despotic regime all out to punish activists for daring to speak up against the prevailing crisis of hunger and hardship caused by its anti-poor policies.
THE CASE AGAINST THE ABUJA 11
When critically evaluated, the charges against the Abuja 11 are ridiculous as the proof of evidence is inadequate to sustain the charges against them. For instance, Adaramoye Micheal was arrested only because he happens to go by the nickname “Lenin” which is Russian. Lenin is the name of Vladimir Ilich, the leader of the Socialist revolution in Russia in October 1917. Being a Socialist and a member of the Democratic Socialist Movement (DSM), Adaramoye Michael Lenin adopted this name as his nickname in line with the tradition in the students and activists’ movement in Nigeria. Michael has no relationship whatsoever with the Russian dictator, Putin, whose vicious capitalist regime is an antithesis of the aims of the Russian Socialist revolution of 1917.
According to the charge sheets against the 11 defendants, the proof of evidence to sustain the 6 count charge against them are the following: (1) Statement of the defendants, (2) Telephone of the suspects (3) Forensic analysis of the telephones of the suspects and call data (4) Videos CD/DVD of the riot/inciting disturbance, (5) Books/Placards, pamphlets recovered (6) Photographs of properties looted and some destroyed, (7) CD/DVD/flash drive of government and other properties looted/destroyed, (8) Telephone call logs and handsets, (9) CAC documents and other documents, (10) Any other relevant exhibits.
For a group of defendants who are being tried for grievous offenses ranging from treason to mutiny, and intent to destabilize and levy war against Nigeria, you would have expected that the government would have been able to provide more convincing and incriminating evidence to prove its case like weapons and other indicators. But the truth of the matter is that the charges against the 11 protesters, just as the charges against the 114 including the children who were discharged in November last year, are trumped up and false charges. There is no iota of truth to these charges which the Amnesty International has rightly described as a sham trial.
NO JUSTICE! NO DIALOGUE
We find it incredible that at the same time as the Nigerian state is on the verge of sentencing these innocent youth and activists to death, it is also taking about organizing a so-called youth confab. We want to urge Nigerian youth not to allow themselves to be deceived and bamboozled by the Tinubu regime. How can a regime that is about to sentence our leaders to death for protesting peacefully while continuing to attack our rights to freedom of expression and assembly provide a credible atmosphere for a genuine discussion about our needs and demands?
All the Tinubu regime wants to achieve by the so-called youth confab is to try to burnish its image as a listening government while carrying out brutal assaults on democratic rights at the same time. This is aside using the confab to divide us by buying off a few self-serving activists with flight tickets, buffet meals and 5-start hotel accommodations in Abuja. As youth groups and civil society organizations, we need to unite and speak with one voice. We should not allow the State to divide us. We should come together to ask that the Tinubu government show good faith by first halting the sham trial against the Abuja 11 as well as other activists, journalists and bloggers who are being persecuted before talking about modalities for a genuine confab. This is the only way to ensure that we do not get ourselves and our energies diverted into a fruitless confab that will end up as a farce without resolving any of the socio-economic crises facing the youth and the working people of Nigeria as a whole.
Democratic Socialist Movement members at the press conference
OUR PRAYERS
Our stand remains that the Abuja 11 are all innocent. All they did was to participate in peaceful protests across the country between 1 to 10 August 2024 to demand an end to hunger and hardship. If there was any grain of truth to the allegations, the regime would not have been able to withdraw the charges against the 114 minors. We urge the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC), civil society organizations, youth groups, students unions, Non-Governmental organizations, professional associations and all human right groups, progressive organizations and people of good conscience to join us to call on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to do the following:
Halt the sham trial and withdraw charges against Adaramoye Michael Lenin, Mosiu Sodiq, Daniel Akande, Angel Love Innocent, Adeyemi Abiodun Abayomi, Buhari Lawal, Bashir Bello, Suleiman Yakubu, Opaoluwa Eleojo Simon, Nuradeen Khamis and Abdulsalam Zubairu as well as all other peaceful protesters and activists in detention and on trial nationwide.
Order the Nigerian police to release the mobile phones, laptops and other gadgets seized from the defendants. Some of the defendants like Mosiu Sodiq who is a graphic designer and printer, depend on these gadgets for their individual businesses and sources of livelihood. The police have no reason to continue to hold on to these devices after releasing the defendants on bail.
Halt the harassment of Amnesty International.
Sack of the Inspector General of Police and other officers responsible for illegal arrest, detention, ill-treatment and unlawful killing of protesters and order acts of willful violation of the rights of the Nigerian people. For a democratically-constituted and independent panel of inquiry into the August 2024 #Endbadgovernance protest.
End Attacks on Democratic Rights and Free Press. No to Descent into Civilian Dictatorship
Halt the sham trial of Abiodun Bamigboye (Abbey Trotsky), Nurse Thomas Abiodun and all victims of repression by the capitalist bosses and the Nigerian state.
Meet the demands of the August 1-10 2024 protest especially regarding the reversal of fuel price hike, electricity tariff hike, hike in food prices as well as all anti-poor policies. Without meeting these demands, President Tinubu should continue to expect to see more protests and demonstrations by the Nigerian people.
ERC hails UCH protest by Students Union and calls for similar action in UI to demand better welfare condition before second semester exams fully begins
The Education Rights Campaign, ERC, University of Ibadan (UI) branch welcomes the decision by the Bolaji Aweda leadership of the Students’ Union to organize a protest at the University College Hospital, UCH, Ibadan on Wednesday, 23rd January, 2025 over a lingering crisis of power outage within the hospital. The protest is long overdue given the scale of devastating consequences of the persistent blackout on the condition of both students and workers. It will be recalled that UCH as a teaching hospital offers both medical services and academic activities. Unfortunately, many of these critical services have either been suspended or scaled back within the hospital, putting patients live at risk and engendering poor living and learning conditions for students, as a result of the incessant blackout. The working conditions, which have been extremely challenging, has either led to burnout or huge decline in the morale of the health professionals and academics in the institution. Water supply and sanitation system are also greatly affected, creating environment poised for infection.
The ERC condemns these appalling conditions in UCH and shall be ready to identify with every democratic means and effort to force the reversal of the situation. However, it is important to state that the lingering crisis in UCH, Ibadan, is part of a broader neglect of students’ welfare and the failure of the past and present administrations of the University of Ibadan to provide a decent condition for mass of students and workers within the university. Despite, the recent hike in school fees including the introduction of some obnoxious fees, electricity and water supplies across halls of residence in the university have remained epileptic, something which has worsened the condition of certain facilities like toilet, bathroom and lecture rooms. The ERC finds this so disturbing and worrisome given the inevitable consequence this will have on both the academic performance and health condition of the mass of students on campus especially at this critical period when the second semester exam is set to fully begin.
Conducting and writing exams under these abysmal conditions, coupled with a chaotic academic calendar, will inevitably have a devastating effect on students’ mental and physical well-being. The immense pressure can lead to increased stress, anxiety and depression, compromising students’ overall health. It is in the effort to avert this kind of possible situation we urge the Aweda-led Student Union to convene an emergency congress, involving students from both the main campus and UCH, to democratically agree on a day to have a peaceful march of mass of the student to the office of the Vice Chancellor specifically to demand an improvement in the welfare condition on campus before the second semester examination fully commences. It is our opinion that the congress can equally be used to commence discussion over the election for a new leadership of the Students’ Union.
Nnamdi Ochi
ERC UI Branch Secretary
If you agree with this statement and you will like to join and help to build ERC, you can email us at edurightsforall@yahoo.co.uk
Nigeria Solidarity 