Among those present were the NLC President, Joe Ajaero, alongside civil society allies, including Omoyele Sowore and members of the Revolution Now Movement.

Security personnel, comprising the police, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, and officials of the Department of State Services (DSS), were also deployed to the area.

Ajaero reiterated that the planned protest remained sacrosanct, describing it as a means of drawing attention to the damaging effects of insecurity on the nation. He said insecurity was discouraging investment and worsening economic hardship.

According to him, the protest is aimed at awakening the government to its responsibility to address insecurity, banditry, kidnapping, and other social challenges confronting the country. He noted that workers and their families are among the most affected, citing cases of teachers and other workers being killed or kidnapped.

Read Also: Tinubu, Meets With NLC Leaders Over Planned Protest

Ajaero called on the government to intensify efforts to identify and prosecute those responsible, stressing that banditry and kidnapping for ransom are alien to Nigeria’s value system.

He urged Nigerians to collectively condemn such acts and support measures to end insecurity, warning that the situation is placing unbearable financial and emotional strain on workers nationwide.

Source: Channels

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The NLC president, Joe Ajaero, while speaking with journalists, described the engagement as a consultation rather than a conclusive negotiation, stressing that labour’s leadership would first brief its internal organs before making any public pronouncement.

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The parents are demanding the payment of outstanding allowances owed to their children.

Read Also: #FreeNnamdiKanu: Protesters Defy Security Warning

The protesters said their children, who are on various bilateral education agreements and other scholarship schemes, have not received their stipends for 16 months, while an additional eight-month shortfall remains unsettled.

Source: Punch

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Agabi told the court that Kanu had decided to take over his defence, prompting all the senior advocates on the team to step down from the case.

Confirming this, Kanu said he would represent himself for now but might hire new lawyers later. When the judge offered to assign him a lawyer, he declined.

During the hearing, Kanu maintained that the court had no power to try him. He is facing a seven-count charge filed by the Federal Government.

Read Also: Amnesty Slams Police for Disrupting Peaceful Protest Over Nnamdi Kanu

Kanu has also named several public figures, including former and current ministers, governors, and military chiefs, as witnesses for his defence.

Source: Punch

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Protesters, made up of civil rights activists and pro-democracy groups, gathered in parts of the city under the #ReleaseNnamdiKanuNow campaign to pressure the government to comply with a Court of Appeal ruling that discharged and acquitted Kanu. Despite the court judgment, Kanu remains in the custody of the State Security Service on terrorism-related charges.

Police operatives reportedly fired tear gas at demonstrators around the Maitama and Utako areas, forcing them to disperse. The incident triggered panic among commuters, traders, and motorists.

In response, Amnesty International called the crackdown illegal, urging authorities to uphold the right to peaceful assembly as guaranteed by the Nigerian Constitution and international human rights treaties.

Read Also: Sowore Set To lead #FreeNnamdiKanuNow protest In Abuja

The Nigeria Police Force defended its actions, saying officers only intervened after protesters attempted to march toward Aso Rock in violation of a court order restricting demonstrations in sensitive areas of the capital. Police also denied blocking roads, claiming they only acted to clear traffic disruptions caused by the protest.

Amnesty has called for an immediate end to what it described as the suppression of dissent and urged authorities to engage with the protesters’ demands.

Source: Punch

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The Director of Mobilisation for the Take It Back Movement, Damilare Adenola, affirmed that the protest would go on as scheduled, both in Abuja and simultaneously in the South-Eastern states of the country, to pressure the government to release from custody Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the  Indigenous People of Biafra.

Recall that a Federal High Court in Abuja issued an interim order restraining the organisers from protesting near the Villa, the National Assembly, and other key government institutions.

Kanu is being detained on charges of terrorism, treason, and incitement, among others.

The Federal Government alleges he advocated for Biafra’s independence through controversial means, including inflammatory rhetoric on social media and Radio Biafra.

 The plan of the organisers to march on the Presidential Villa directly contravenes an interim injunction granted by Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja.

 The order, issued on Friday, followed an ex parte application filed by the Nigeria Police Force on behalf of the Federal Government

 The ruling explicitly restrained the organisers, led by a human rights activist and former Presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, from protesting in or around sensitive government locations. These areas include the Aso Rock Villa, the National Assembly Complex, the Force Headquarters, the Court of Appeal, Eagle Square, and Shehu Shagari Way.

 The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Federal Capital Territory Command, issued a firm caution to protesters against vandalising public or private property.

 FCT Commandant,  Olusola Odumosu, warned that the corps would not tolerate any form of destruction or theft “in the name of protest.”

 “The corps will not condone any form of destruction, vandalism or theft of public and private facilities in the name of protest.

Read Also: Nnamdi Kanu Fit For Trail – NMA

  “We are prepared, as always, to ensure there are no incidents of destruction of properties or threats to infrastructure and the peace in the territory,” he stated.

 Odumosu confirmed the deployment of personnel from specialised units and area commands in strategic locations and flashpoints across Abuja to ensure the safety of residents and protect critical national assets and infrastructure.

He stressed that while the corps respects the right to peaceful protest, any attempt to hijack the demonstration for criminal activities would be met with full legal consequences.

Source: Punch

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The activist wrote, “We now have a date for the historic #FreeNnamdiKanuNow protest march to the Aso Rock Villa in Abuja. It is October 20 at 7 am.”

Sowore urged all South-East governors, lawmakers, traditional rulers, and religious leaders to join the demonstration.

“Every governor, senator, member of the House, traditional ruler, priest, eze, Igbo person, and every Nigerian who believes in Kanu’s freedom should come out and do more than talk,” he added.

He also emphasised that he had reached out to other prominent Igbo leaders, including Anambra State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo; Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe; Abia State Governor, Alex Otti; and Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, to join the protest.

“This is not the time for hesitation. If we genuinely believe that MaziNnamdiKanu deserves freedom, then every leader of conscience must act, now, not later,” he wrote.

Recall that Kanu has been in the custody of the Department of State Services since his re-arrest in 2021 after his controversial extradition from Kenya. Despite multiple court rulings ordering his release, the Federal Government has yet to comply, drawing condemnation from rights groups and political leaders.

Read Also: Shun Nigerian Army recruitment or perish, IPOB warns Igbo youths

He faces charges bordering on terrorism, treasonable felony, and incitement, filed by the Federal Government before the Federal High Court in Abuja.

Kanu has consistently pleaded not guilty to all counts.

In October 2022, the Court of Appeal discharged and acquitted him of all charges, ruling that his extradition to Nigeria violated international laws.

Source: Punch

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This follows threats by members of the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN) to embark on industrial action over unresolved welfare and constitutional grievances.

In a circular issued by the Secretary of Human Resources on behalf of the Clerk to the National Assembly, staff were urged to ignore calls for strike action, with assurances of safety and warnings against “unlawful picketing” or “work-to-rule.”

The management stressed that union membership is voluntary and urged dissatisfied staff to withdraw from PASAN in line with union rules. It also defended its administrative reforms and commitment to staff welfare since taking office.

However, a group identifying as “Concerned PASAN Members” accused management of harassing union members pushing for financial transparency. They alleged threats and suspensions aimed at silencing calls for audited accounts, budget presentations, and adherence to union constitutional provisions.

The group also criticised the recognition of ousted PASAN executives, describing it as a breach of due process. They demanded the implementation of the 40% consolidated peculiar allowance approved for federal workers, provision of vehicles and buses for staff, capacity-building training, and enforcement of the National Assembly Service Pension Board Act.

Read Also: Natasha arrives National Assembly, barred from entering the chamber

Beyond union matters, the workers raised issues of salary shortfalls, non-remittance of tax and pension deductions, and non-payment of allowances for rent, leave, hazard, and medicals.

As plenary resumes, the handling of these grievances may determine whether legislative business proceeds smoothly or faces disruption.

Source: Punch

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The demonstrators, comprising elderly ex-police personnel, held placards and chanted solidarity songs as they stood in the rain, insisting that their welfare and dignity had been neglected for too long.

Speaking during the protest, a retired Chief Superintendent of Police, CSP Manir Lawal, called on the government to exit police retirees from the pension scheme, which he described as exploitative and unjust.

He said, “We are here to ask the government to remove us from the CPS. The pension scheme is exploitative and unjust.”

Despite the rain, the retirees stood firm, vowing not to leave until their concerns were addressed by the leadership of the National Assembly.

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