Nigeria: Boko Haram Threatens NLC Over Suspended Strike

The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, has reportedly received a threat from someone claiming to speak for the Boko Haram sect, creating great fear and making its leadership to stay away from the premises of its secretariats nationwide.

NLC President, Comrade Abdulwaheed Omar, has written to security agencies, informing them about the development to forestall any threat to security within and around the premises of its offices.

A letter, purportedly written by the sect and sent to NLC’s e-mail address, alleged that the umbrella union of Nigerian workers and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) did not do the people’s wish when they called off the strike following a reduction of petrol price from N141 to N97.

A copy of the letter, as posted on the social network, facebook wall of Comrade Denja Yaqub, a senior official of the NLC, reads (edited):

“WARNING: I said it recently: the so-called robbers, Labour union and its wife the TUC, are bastards, traitors that would disappoint Nigerians. How could they submit to the pressure? Who sent them? It is not on fuel subsidy alone. I am talking about d highest corruption in the land. What was a stay at home protest for that did not yield any result? The battle line is drawn. Badluck wants war; he believes in his Ijaw militants.

“The man does not understand what Nigerians want. On N65 (per litre) I stand. He’s the most useless President Nigeria ever had. His PhD is questionable.

“I’m using this opportunity to tell Abdulwahed Omar (NLC National President) to resign with immediate effect. NLC and TUC: be prepared for fire at your head offices and offices nationwide soonest (friday 2012).”

Reacting to the threat, Omar said, “We can’t actually tell why such threat could be directed at the Labour, but from the letter the sect sent, it claimed that it was because we could not insist on N65 per liter from the government.

“We had written to the State Security Service (SSS), the police and other security personnel about the situation to ensure enough security at our offices nationwide”.