The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on Wednesday commenced a nationwide protest against worsening insecurity across the country, kicking off the action from its national secretariat in Abuja.
The labour movement said it initiated the protest to press for urgent, decisive, and sustained action by the government to halt what it described as an escalating wave of violence, kidnappings, and killings affecting workers and citizens nationwide.
Labour leaders said the protest also serves as a national day of mourning for victims of insecurity.
The NLC President, Joe Ajaero, led the protest at the Abuja secretariat, accompanied by leaders of affiliated labour unions and representatives of civil society organisations.
The gathering drew activists and concerned citizens who expressed frustration over what they described as the government’s failure to guarantee public safety.
Also present were Omoyele Sowore and members of the Revolution Now Movement, who accused the federal government of neglecting its constitutional responsibility to protect lives and property.
Sowore described Nigeria’s security situation as deteriorating and warned that continued inaction could deepen public despair.
“For the civil society, the country is bleeding, and the bleeding must stop immediately. Nigeria’s leadership has failed to protect Nigerians at this time.
“People are getting kidnapped from places of worship, whether you’re a Muslim or a Christian. We’ve over 250 kids still in captivity in Niger State, and everybody is behaving as if it’s normal, and everybody is moving on.
“We even have our soldiers, members of the air force, captured by Burkina Faso, and it looks like everything has broken down irretrievably, and we’ve a duty to keep mobilising Nigerians to say, ‘Enough is enough.’”
Ahead of the protest, the NLC said it had received credible intelligence from its community networks indicating that unnamed agencies and political actors plan to infiltrate and violently disrupt the peaceful demonstration scheduled for Wednesday, December 17, 2025.
The Congress described the protest as a legitimate response to what it called an unchecked reign of terror across the country, stressing that rising cases of mass abductions, killings, and attacks on communities had continued amid what it viewed as official indifference or institutional weakness.
In a statement signed by its Acting General Secretary, Benson Upah, the NLC warned that the scale of human losses had reached alarming levels, affecting workers across multiple sectors, including teachers, farmers, miners, and artisans.
“Our action on Wednesday, is therefore not just a mere procession, it is a collective act of grief, a roar of despair from the oppressed, and a democratic demand for the fundamental right to life and security. We have lost count of the number of our members; teachers, farmers, miners and other artisans who have died to this overwhelming insecurity.
“Let this be understood by those who occupy the corridors of power and the purveyors of violence that the Congress is now officially aware of their plot to use armed thugs to attack peaceful protesters, cause mayhem, and create a pretext for violent repression.
“We name this plot for what it is, a further enabled terrorism against Nigerian citizens.
“We issue a stern and final warning to the purveyors of this act: Desist immediately. Call off your hoodlums as any attack on peacefully protesting workers will be considered a direct declaration of war on the entire Nigerian working class and its allies.
“The Police having been informed of our protests and their dynamics must act to protect the democratic rights of citizens to freely assemble and express themselves. The rights of citizens must be respected and guaranteed.
“To all the working people of Nigeria, the unemployed, the students, the traders, and all victims of insecurity, we alert you to this insidious plot. Do not be cowed. Do not be provoked. Our protest must remain peaceful, disciplined, and massive. Solidarity is our shield.
“Here is our iron-clad resolution as passed by the National Executive Council: Should a single worker, comrade, or citizen be harmed by these thugs or through escalated repression tomorrow, the Nigeria Labour Congress will not hesitate to declare an immediate, comprehensive, and indefinite nationwide strike.
“All wheels of production, all services, and every sector of the national economy will be shut down completely and indefinitely. When the ruling class moves to crush a peaceful protest against their failure, they unwittingly reveal their truly undemocratic tendencies.
“The message must be clear and without equivocation; any attack on our protest will be an attack on the very engine of Nigeria. The consequence will be an escalation and a total shutdown.”
Meanwhile, security agencies deployed personnel to the area to maintain order, including officers of the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, and operatives of the Department of State Services.
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