NLC Condemns Sowore’s Arrest, Demands Adherence to Citizens’ Rights

In a statement on Thursday, the President of the NLC, Comrade Joe Ajaero, stated that legal process should be followed if the publisher of Sahara Reporters had offended anyone.

He warned that continued silence by the Nigeria Police in the face of the arrest shows complicity, and if allowed, the safety of journalists, trade unions and ordinary Nigerians is not safe.

Citing the dangers of breach of constitutional rights, it warned that Nigeria cannot be allowed to go back to the days of dictatorship where fear replaces freedom and dissent is met with brute force.

It called on the government to be law-abiding, stating that Sowore has been a moral compass we can ill-afford to treat with levity.

The statement called for the immediate release of Sowore, an end to the harassment and intimidation of all voices of dissent, an adherence to the rule of law and a guarantee for freedom of speech and association.