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El-Rufai Must Answer For His 'Criminal' Actions Against Peaceful Protesters In Kaduna—Group

The group said El-Rufai should be held responsible, declaring him as a criminal that should be publicly prosecuted.

The Joint Action Front (JAF) has hailed the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) for the resistance in the ongoing 5-day warning strike aimed to compel the Kaduna state governor, Nasir El-Rufai to reverse his alleged anti-people and anti-labour policies of sacking of over 30,000 workers in the past five years.

JAF in a statement signed by its Chairperson, Dr. Dipo Fashina and Secretary, ​​Comrade Abiodun Aremu condemned the different attacks unleashed against peaceful protesters and defenceless workers since the commencement of the strike action.

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The group said El-Rufai should be held responsible, declaring him as a criminal that should be publicly prosecuted.

The statement called in El-Rufai to "reverse his anti-people and anti-labour policies of sacking of over 30,000 workers, in the past five years, with the recent illegal sacking of 4,000 workers being the latest". 

It noted that rather than respond to the "legitimate and popular demands of the NLC and the affected workers", the governor adored the "destructive and intransigence stance of violent repression of the peaceful protests, that commenced two days ago and which have been successful with the shutdown of work services and activities in Kaduna state".

It added that the governor "should be held responsible for the current state of anarchy he is bent on foisting in the state by pitching other categories of workers and working people against workers in the services of the Kaduna State Government, based on his malicious and spurious propaganda of the shares of revenues in the state".

“JAF enjoins the NLC, the sacked workers and the entire Nigerian workers not to be deterred by the threat of further attacks and illegal imposition of measures being recklessly pronounced by Governor Hell Rufai, but rather, the leadership of the NLC should be encouraged to call an emergency National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in view of a declaration of nationwide strike of the working people and oppressed masses.

“JAF wants to reiterate that the demand by the NLC for the unconditional recall of all the over 30,000 (recently and before) sacked workers should be in focus, in addition, to insisting on the full implementation of the national minimum wage and the reversal of all anti-labour policies and anti-poor measures in Kaduna State," it said. 

It urged Nigerians to disregard the "desperate and illegal declaration of the NLC President Ayuba Wabba wanted by the state governor," saying he should ordinarily not have occupied a public office. 

“Equally, JAF demands that the Inspector General of Police and the Kaduna Commissioner of Police stand culpable and indicted for the degeneration of the peaceful protests by workers into violence. The police from documentary evidence available, rather than protect the peaceful protest from the Hell Rufai’s recruited thugs, joined forces with the thugs to destabilise the protests with their indiscrimate shootings, but for the large turnout of the organised mass of workers, whose courageous and commendable resistance defied and overcome the violence," it added.