The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) have warned that workers across the country may be advised to stay away from their workplaces if the Federal Government fails to tackle the worsening insecurity situation.
President of the NLC, Joe Ajaero, said Nigerian workers now face life-threatening risks simply by going to work, describing insecurity as a growing danger to economic productivity and national stability.
Speaking on the sidelines of the 114th International Labour Conference in Geneva, Ajaero expressed concern over increasing attacks on farmers, teachers, healthcare workers, and communities nationwide.
“In Nigeria, the crisis of insecurity has reached frightening dimensions that workers now risk their very lives simply to report to duty,” the labour unions said.
The labour centres warned that if the situation continues unchecked, organised labour could direct workers to remain at home — not as an industrial action, but as “a desperate act of survival.”
According to the unions, insurgency and banditry have displaced several communities, while persistent attacks and kidnappings are crippling economic activities in many parts of the country.
The warning came as the Senate intensified efforts to fast-track a constitutional amendment bill proposing the establishment of state police across Nigeria.
Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele said the National Assembly could pass the bill this week before forwarding it to the 36 state Houses of Assembly for consideration.
Bamidele stated that the proposal had received strong backing from key stakeholders, including President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, governors, and lawmakers, due to the deteriorating security situation across the country.
He argued that the current centralised policing structure under the 1999 Constitution has become inadequate in addressing local security challenges, making decentralised policing increasingly necessary.
Meanwhile, insecurity continued to escalate in parts of the country as bandits abducted 39 residents of Magamin Diddi village in Zamfara State during a reconciliation mission.
The victims were reportedly travelling to Fadama Forest to meet relatives of a notorious bandit leader in a bid to negotiate peace when they were kidnapped.
Chairman of Maradun Local Government Area, Bello Dosara, confirmed the incident, noting that the mission was carried out without government approval.
The Zamfara State Police Command said security operatives had commenced rescue operations to secure the victims’ release.
In Oyo State, the Oodua Progressives Union condemned reports claiming that abductors of schoolchildren in Oriire Local Government Area demanded the implementation of Sharia law as a condition for their release.
However, the abducted school principal, Rachael Alamu, dismissed the claims in a video recorded from captivity, warning that inaccurate information could complicate ongoing rescue efforts.
Alamu appealed to the media and the public to avoid politicising the abduction or spreading misleading reports capable of jeopardising negotiations for the victims’ freedom.
The incidents have intensified calls for urgent security reforms and stronger measures to address rising cases of terrorism, kidnapping, and banditry across Nigeria.
