Police Urge NLC to Shelve Planned Protest in FCT as CSO Counters Advisory
• FCTA workers resume duty in defiance of labour order
Olawale Ajimotokan and Linus Aleke in Abuja
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has appealed to the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), FCT Council, to shelve its planned solidarity protest scheduled for today, February 3, 2026, citing security concerns within the nation’s capital.
In a statement, the command confirmed awareness of the proposed protest and reiterated its respect for the constitutional right of citizens to peaceful assembly and expression.
It also assured residents of its commitment to providing adequate security for all lawful activities in the FCT.
However, the police disclosed that intelligence reports available to the command suggested plans by the proscribed Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) and other non-state actors to infiltrate and hijack the protest.
According to the command, such developments could pose serious threats to public peace, safety, and security.
On the basis of these concerns, the police appealed to the organisers to consider rescheduling the protest to a later date.
The command explained that the appeal was made in the overriding interest of public safety, to prevent a potential breakdown of law and order, and to safeguard the rights of other residents to safety, freedom of movement, and the uninterrupted conduct of lawful daily activities.
Meanwhile, a civil society organisation, the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), has countered the police advisory, urging the command to refrain from actions or statements that might discourage or delay lawful protests.
RULAAC called on the police to engage constructively with the NLC to agree on appropriate security arrangements, deploy adequate personnel to protect protesters, other residents, and public infrastructure, and ensure that policing of the protest—if it proceeded—was professional, restrained, and compliant with human rights standards.
In a statement, RULAAC’s Executive Director, Okechukwu Nwanguma, said the organisation had reviewed the police advisory urging the NLC to reschedule its planned protest on the grounds of alleged security concerns.
While acknowledging the duty of the police to protect lives and property, he expressed concern that the advisory, despite its conciliatory tone, amounted to a prior restraint on the constitutionally guaranteed right to peaceful assembly.
In another development, many workers of the Federal Capital Territory Administration, yesterday, resumed work in spite of the threat by the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), and some of its affiliates, including the Joint Union Action Committee (JUAC) to embark on mass protest today.
THISDAY observed that workers turned up at their duty posts in critical FCTA departments, including the Abuja Geographical System (AGIS), the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), the Treasury Department and Minister’s Block among others, without yielding to a statement by the NLC Chairman, FCT Chapter, Comrade Stephen Knabayi, ordering all Union/affiliate in the FCT to turn up for a mass protests on Tuesday February 3, 2026.
Some of the workers, said they decided to work in deference to the ruling of the Industrial court that ordered them to report to duties while discussion between the administration and the union was ongoing.
Justice Emmanuel Subilim of the FCT Industrial Court had last week’s Tuesday, in an application initiated by FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, challenging the legality of the strike, ordered the workers to suspend their strike, pending further hearing motion on notice.
This followed an industrial action embarked on by JUAC to make the FCTA accede to some of their grievances, including unpaid salaries and allowances and unremitted pensions contributions.
Subsequently, the Acting Head of Service of the FCT, Nancy Sabanti Nathan, moved to restore administrative order across the FCTA, by directing all permanent secretaries and heads of departments to ensure compliance with the court order by maintaining staff attendance registers.
The directive was contained in a circular, dated January 27, 2026, that instructed Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Departments, Parastatals and Agencies to enforce immediate resumption of duties by workers.
