NLC’s lawyer Falana fires back at FG, says protest legal
Femi Falana, lawyer to the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), has fired back at the attorney-general and minister of justice, Lateef Fagbemi after he urged him to stop a planned nationwide protest by the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC.
Fagbemi had told Falana, in a letter he wrote to him, that going ahead with the protest would be disobeying an earlier court order that had stopped the union from such public action.
In his response, Falana refuted Fagbemi’s claim concerning the court order. Instead, he urged the AGF to see to the protection of the unionists that would be participating in the protest.
“We submit, without any fear of contradiction, that the proposed public protest of the NLC is not contemptuous of the two ex parte orders of the national industrial court,” Falana wrote.
“In particular, the issue of contempt does not arise as the NLC has challenged the jurisdiction of the National Industrial Court to entertain the substantive case.
“It is further submitted that the National Industrial Court has not restrained the members of the NLC from exercising their fundamental rights to freedom of assembly and freedom of expression to protest against the excruciating economic pains being experienced by the masses.
“While we have advised the members of the NLC to conduct the rallies scheduled for February 27-28, 2024 in a peaceful manner, we urge you to use your good offices to direct the Inspector-General of Police to provide adequate security to the conveners and participants in the protest in line with the provisions of Section 83(4) of the Police Establishment Act.”
TheCornet reports that NLC said it was embarking on a protest because the federal government had failed to act on the agreements it reached with the workers’ union. It fixed February 27 and 28 for the nationwide protest.
However, the government has urged the NLC to shelve its planned action, saying that it had implemented some of the agreements while calling for further negotiation with the union.
