The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Wednesday described the use of live bullets against protesters as a crime against the Nigerians people.
The congress in a statement jointly signed by the president, Comrade Ayuba Wabba and general secretary, Comrade Emma Ugboaja, urged the government to put in place a high power judicial panel of inquiry to unravel those behind the killings of young protesters.
The statement further called for compensation for the deceased families who lost their lives during the protest.
“We mourn the death of innocent young Nigerians who were brutally assassinated by agents of the state. We commiserate with the families of these young martyrs and the entire nation.
“We condemn this coldblooded murder of our young ones and the use of high-handed tactics on unarmed protesters in flagrant violation of every known convention and protocol on the management of protests.
“While we commend the maturity and focus displayed by our young people in conducting themselves in a peaceful manner during the protests, we condemn the infiltration of criminal elements into the current struggle.”
Acts of arson on public and private properties and the reported storming and jail break in the Benin Correctional Facility is condemnable and should never be tolerated.
Yet, it is difficult to convince Nigerians that these acts were carried out by the peaceful protesters. We call for a high-powered Judicial Panel of Inquiry into this.
It is our expectation that part of the outcomes of the Judicial Panel of Inquiry should be compensation for families of victims. We have already shed enough blood in Nigeria through various specters of insecurity. We cannot afford to add the blood of young protesters to the list.
As it is right now, the government owes Nigerian youth a listening ear. The youth must now be ready to discuss and secure the high grounds of their demands which has gained the attention of Nigerians and has indeed captured global interest.
