The Nigerian Workers Solidarity Forum (NWSF) has issued a scathing condemnation of the Department of State Services (DSS) following the reported arrest and continued detention of Comrade Andrew Emelieze, National Coordinator of the Federal Workers Forum (FWF), in Ibadan. The group described the action as “a brazen assault on civil liberties” and accused the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of descending into authoritarianism.
According to a statement released by Comrade Ogundele Ayodele on behalf of Emelieze’s associates, the labour leader was detained by DSS operatives around 6:00 p.m. on Monday, allegedly in connection with a planned protest scheduled for the following day.
“This is not just an attack on Comrade Emelieze—it is an attack on every Nigerian worker who dares to speak truth to power,” said NWSF spokesperson Halima Okonkwo. “The Tinubu regime has shown a disturbing pattern of suppressing dissent, and this arrest is yet another example of its intolerance for democratic expression.”
The NWSF emphasized that Emelieze has been a vocal critic of the government’s economic policies, which labour groups have described as “hellish conditions” for civil servants. In a recent petition to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the United Nations, Emelieze and fellow labour leader Itoro Obong accused the federal government of systemic exploitation, citing stagnant wages, fuel price hikes, and deliberate naira devaluation.
The group is demanding the immediate and unconditional release of Comrade Emelieze and calling on civil society organizations, international human rights bodies, and the global labour movement to take urgent notice.
“We will not be silenced,” Okonkwo declared. “The Nigerian worker is not a slave, and we will resist every attempt to turn our democracy into a dictatorship.”