The Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) has warned the Nasir El-Rufai administration in Kaduna against abusing the rights of workers as a five-day warning strike called by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to protest mass sack of civil servants entered its third day.
CNG gave the warning in a Wednesday statement titled ‘CNG lauds NLC, warns El-Rufai against rights breaches’ and signed by its spokesman, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman.
The coalition expressed support for the NLC over the ongoing strike, saying it would checkmate the state government’s growing excesses and abuse of privilege.
According to CNG, unguarded actions and utterances by the state governor were capable of further escalating tensions.
The coalition condemned the growing practice of deploying non-state actors against peaceful processions by some political leaders in the state, hailing the police for “refusing to compromise professionalism when state-sponsored thugs unleashed violence on workers who were merely protesting impunity”.
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“We are watching events as they unfold and for the avoidance of doubt, if the governor insists on pursuing the path of brigandage to suppress the ongoing civil action by workers, he would certainly be called to account for any unforeseen eventuality.
“While we restate our total support for the ongoing action by the courageous leaders of the organised labour and stand firmly in solidarity with the Kaduna State workers who have subjected to suppressive and inhumane policies of Elrufai,” the statement read.
The group vowed to push for the prosecution of political leaders and government officials fond of deploying armed thugs to scuttle peaceful protests.
“We recall that the CNG had once suffered similar state sponsored attack by armed gangs that disrupted its meeting on security at Arewa House. We find it unacceptable that armed thugs in their hundreds would storm the streets of a state capital, unleash violence on peaceful assemblies and vanish into the thin air,” the statement further read.
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