Imported User:
A team of men and officers of the Nigeria police from the Ebonyi State Command led by an assistant Commissioner of Police T J Esoung yesterday shot sporadically at members Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) during an election in Abakalike the Ebonyi State capital.
The members of NLC were in Ebonyi to conduct the Congress State Council 4th quadrennial election at Pastoral Centre Ebonyi.
The organising Secretary of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Comrade Nuhu Toro, who spoke to LEADERSHIP on telephone, said the police officers came to the venue of the election and asked them to leave the centre in five minutes or they would shot them.
Comrade Nuhu added that “a team of police led by an assistant commissioner of police T J Esoung came to the centre where we were conducting the Ebonyi State council election of NLC and ordered us to leave within five minutes or we would be shot.
But before we knew it, we heard a shot and Toyota bus belonging to NULGE Ebonyi Council went up in flames.
According to him, “when we reported the matter to the Commissioner of Police, Mamman Sule, he promised to investigate the matter which he never did but we will not be intimidated as labour movement in the fight for the welfare of workers in the state and Nigeria in general.”
Another officer from NLC Headquarters in Abuja, Comrade Felix Ifoh, also told LEADERSHIP that some of the union members sustained injuries as a result of the attack by the police.
Comrade Felix Ifoh, who is from the Nigeria Civil Service Union (NCSU), said the Police claimed there was a court injunction retraining NLC from holding the election which he said the movement never received.
Also speaking, General Secretary of the Nigeria Medical and Health Workers Union (NMHW), Marcus Imakhuale, said the situation was unacceptable that the state government would want to disrupt the election of the movement using a purported court injunction which never existed.
He said “why should any responsive government want to go to court to stop an election in the name of security challenges when the state is peaceful and without any crisis.”
Comrade Imakhule, however, said despite the fact that the movement held the election because” we are law abiding organization.”
