The Nigerian government has rejected allegations of human rights violations, emphasizing that all citizens are subject to the rule of law. The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, issued a statement titled “Nigeria, A Country Governed By Law” refuting the claims made by the leader of the UK Trade Union Congress (TUC).
Mr. Onanuga reiterated that Nigeria, a sovereign state, operates under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (As Amended), which asserts that no individual is beyond the reach of lawful investigation or enforcement actions. He emphasized that the government, led by a pro-democracy president, is committed to safeguarding civil liberties and citizens’ rights.
Responding to some of the accusations made during the UK TUC’s conference, Mr. Onanuga stated, “The Trade Union Congress in the United Kingdom opened its conference today in London, with its leader making false claims about human rights abuses and violations in Nigeria. The Nigerian government was wrongly and falsely accused of rights abuse because the NLC President, Joe Ajaero, was stopped from traveling abroad after he snubbed the invitation of a law enforcement agency conducting an ongoing investigation.”
He argued that Ajaero’s situation stemmed from his refusal to cooperate with a lawful inquiry, stating that “no one is above the law in Nigeria” and comparing the situation to how law enforcement operates in other democratic nations like the UK and the US.
Furthermore, Mr. Onanuga underscored that Nigeria has no adversarial relationship with its labour unions and that the government remains open to engagement, despite occasional differences in policy views. He also stressed that labour unions have historically opposed policies that could have benefited the country’s economic growth, citing their resistance
