The Nigeria Police Force has issued a statement clarifying the events surrounding an operation conducted at the National Headquarters of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), popularly known as Labour House, in Abuja.
Contrary to reports suggesting that the police raided the building, the Force described the action as a targeted operation aimed at apprehending a prime criminal suspect.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Olumuyiwa Adejobi, the Force Public Relations Officer, explained that detectives, acting with the necessary legal authority, were led to a shop within the Labour House while pursuing a suspect involved in numerous criminal activities across Nigeria and other African countries.
“This well-coordinated, lawful operation was solely aimed at apprehending the prime suspect—a foreign national implicated in numerous criminal activities across Nigeria and other African countries,” ACP Adejobi stated.
The statement emphasized that the operation had no connection to the NLC, its Secretariat, or its staff. “The NLC Secretariat was not the focus of the operation, which was targeted at a rented shop within the building used by the suspect as a front for his criminal activities in Nigeria,” the police clarified.
The Nigeria Police Force also called for the cooperation of the NLC leadership as the investigation continues, citing the suspect’s high-profile nature and the significant security threat posed to Nigeria and other African nations.
Reaffirming their commitment to upholding the rule of law and respecting human rights, the police urged Nigerians to remain vigilant and conduct thorough security profiling of individuals seeking to rent space within their premises.
The clarification comes after the NLC accused the Department of State Services (DSS) of raiding its National Secretariat, a claim that was swiftly debunked by DSS spokesperson Dr. Peter Afunaya.
