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Nigerian labour leader abducted, brutalized

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President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero was on Wednesday, abducted and seriously brutalized by during a protest by the union in Imo State, in south-east Nigeria.

The NLC President along with other national leaders of NLC and their counterparts in the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) had gathered in solidarity with civil servants at the State Secretariat in Owerri, the state capital, to begin a planned protest over a backlog of unpaid salaries and allowances running into several months when security agents allegedly stormed the venue and abducted him and others while one person was feared killed in the melee.

The state workers were also protesting against the government over its refusal to implement previous agreements, salary arrears, unjust declaration of workers as ghost workers, destruction of NLC state secretariat, implementation of discriminatory pay and unpaid gratuity arrears.

They also lamented the non-compliance with the National Minimum Wage, intimidation and harassment of trade union leaders, use of violence and thuggery, misappropriation of union dues, declaration of pensioners as ghosts, systematic harassment and intimidation of workforce, resistance to social dialogue and collective bargaining, interference with workers’ democratic processes, they stated.

They also alleged that apart from the operatives, heavily armed thugs said to be loyal to the state governor, Hope Uzodimma, also descended on the labour leaders and other protesters, smashing vehicles, inflicting injuries and dispossessing them of their handsets, money, ATM cards, and other valuables.

Labour leaders who narrated what happened to journalists said trouble started when workers were trying to gain access into the state secretariat of the NLC for the protest and thugs in about 10 mini-buses armed with dangerous weapons stormed the secretariat and attacked labour leaders, workers and chased them away.

They said Ajaero was on the verge of addressing the gathering when a combined team of armed policemen and hooded men in trucks stormed the venue and arrested him alongside some labour leaders and some journalists, shooting sporadically.

The NLC Head of Information and Publicity, Benson Upah, who later addressed newsmen, said those who arrested Ajaero were led by the State’s Commissioner of Police.

“The NLC President was abducted by policemen armed to their teeth at the Imo state NLC secretariat on Wednesday as we were about to commence our lawful protest against the violation of trade Union rights of the workers,” Upah said.

“As workers were gathering to protest their maltreatment by the state government in Owerri, Imo State and the President of NLC was about to address the workers, the Police came amidst attacks by thugs to arrest Ajaero.

“Thugs first attacked and dragged Ajaero from the platform before police came to arrest him along with another senior official of the NLC.

“There were about five naval personnel on duty. The Police arrested and brutalized the President and took him to their Tiger base and nobody has sighted him”, he added.

Ajaere, who was later released late into the evening, had bruises on his face.

“He was thoroughly brutalized, his right eye at the time of contact was completely shut. Ajaero, who spoke little, stated that immediately after his arrest, he was beaten up and blind-folded and taken to an unknown destination where more brutalisation took place, sometimes with bottles. His phones, money and other personal effects were taken from him and have not been returned to him,” the union spokesman said.

The police have however denied the allegations, claiming they rescued Ajaero and took him into protective custody.

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Zambia: APP leader lampoons PF over pledge to reverse forfeited properties

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Leader of one of Zambia’s opposition parties, Advocates for People’s Prosperity (APP), Mwenye Musenge, has criticised the Patriotic Front (PF) over its promise to reverse forfeited properties if the party won the 2026 presidential election.

Musenge, who was reacting to a statement credited to the PF Member of Parliament (MP) for Lukashya Province, George Chisanga, described the PF’s promise as a betrayal, saying the declaration had exposed the party’s disregard for accountability and justice.

The APP leader, who spoke to Zambia Monitor in a telephone interview from Kitwe, expressed shock that Chisanga, a former Law Association of Zambia president, would endorse what he termed a “regressive agenda,” accusing the PF of prioritising the protection of corrupt individuals over the welfare of citizens.

“This declaration reveals the PF’s true intentions, returning to power not to serve Zambians, but to shield their corrupt network and restore stolen assets,” Musenge said.

He alleged that former President Edgar Lungu’s consistent calls to protect his family, who he claimed cannot explain their amassed wealth, further demonstrate the party’s self-serving mission.

Musenge further described the PF as “a political carcass animated by greed and nostalgia for its days of unchecked looting,” and accused its leaders of leaving Zambia impoverished while enriching themselves.

“Allowing them near power again would be akin to handing a butcher’s knife to a thief already drenched in the blood of the nation’s resources.

“The PF represents everything wrong with Zambian politics—a relic of the past clinging to survival through recycled lies and corrupt agendas,” he added.

Musenge went on to call for the party to be permanently eradicated, saying it had no vision, morality, or credibility to serve Zambians.

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Nigerian Senate confirms influx of terrorists from Mali, Burkina Faso into the country 

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The Nigerian Senate has raised the alarm over the influx of terrorists from Mali and Burkina Faso who operate in the name of Lakurawa, into Kebbi, Sokoto, Kaduna and Niger States in the northern parts of the country.

The Upper Chamber, which raised the alarm during plenary on Wednesday, called on the military to set up early warning mechanisms to forestall further incursions by terrorist groups as well as maintain presence and vigilance in the affected communities to halt the activities of the terror group from spreading further across the region.

The resolutions of the Senate were sequel to a motion titled, “Urgent need for the federal government to take stringent measures to stop the infiltration of a group of violent terrorists, known as Lakurawa, from entrenching themselves in some northwest states of Sokoto and Kebbi,” and was sponsored by the senator representing Kebbi North, Senator Yahaya Abdullahi, and co- sponsored by Senators Adamu Aliero, from Kebbi Central, and Garba Musa Maidoki, representing Kebbi South.

While presenting the motion, Senator Abdullahi said:

“The Senate is aware that a group of terrorists from neighbouring Burkina Faso and Mali, known as Lakurawa, has infiltrated the country through the Nigeria-Niger border, at Illela, Tangaza and Silame Local Government Areas of Sokoto and are from there, attacking communities in Augie and Arewa LGAs in Kebbi State.

“Recall that this violent gang of terrorists had raided and dispossessed these communities, prior to the large-scale invasion of Mera, a village in Augie Local Government, on November 8, 2024, killing more than 20 people and fleeing with their livestock, amounting to hundreds of millions of naira.

“Senate is aware that Kebbi State government promptly responded by sending a delegation with relief materials to the affected villages and assistance to the families of the deceased.

“Aware that Senator Yahaya A. Abdullahi (Kebbi North) and Senator Adamu Aliero (Kebbi North Central) and Senator Garba Musa Maidoki (Kebbi South), along with some members of the House of Representatives from Kebbi State, have been to those areas, to commiserate with victims of the attacks on behalf of the National Assembly.

“Aware that if timely, adequate and decisive measures are not taken, this group can spread its reign of terror to other northern parts of the country and beyond.

“Notes the prompt response of the ministry of defence and the armed forces who despatched a well-armed military response squad that was able to dislodge the terrorists and secured the release of herds of cattle and other livestock stolen by the terrorists. These foreigners have invaded the country.

“We need to nip the situation in the bud, they have international connections, heavily armed with very dangerous weapons, the federal government should take the matter very seriously.

‘These terrorists are well armed with highly sophisticated weapons, this is a very serious matter on national security, they control the whole of Northern Mali and now attacking Kebbi, Sokoto, Kaduna, Niger, and others. The time to act is now, we have to take action on how to tame terrorism.”

He said the Senate should revisit past resolutions on terrorism and send them to the Presidency for immediate action.

”I want us to recall what happened in the 8th and 9th Senates. We discussed extensively how we can stem the tide of banditry and terrorism. We made far-reaching recommendations, and we asked the Executive arm of government to implement those resolutions.

“It is still relevant for us to insist that those resolutions should be implemented, if we do so, it will reduce the incidences of banditry and insurgency in the country. We can reduce it to the barest minimum.”

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