The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) on Sunday warned the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) against its planned March 1 shutdown of telecommunication services in response to the recent 50 per cent tariff hike.
The Private Telecommunications and Communications Senior Staff Association of Nigeria and the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria both criticized the NLC’s planned boycott of telecom services and shutdown of telecom infrastructure, claiming that such actions are misguided and could harm the industry.
Babawale Afolabi, the NSCDC’s spokesman, told reporters on Sunday that the agency has dispatched officers to the base stations to prevent the demonstrators from engaging in criminal activity.
The NSCDC, which is in charge of protecting important national infrastructure like telecommunications, voiced alarm about the NLC action’s potential impact on national security and public safety.
The NLC announced its intention to shut down telecommunications firms across the country if the Nigerian Communications Commission’s pricing hike was not overturned by the end of February.
The union has asked Nigerians to boycott major cellular companies such as MTN, Airtel, and Glo from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily beginning February 13 and continuing throughout the month.
The NLC, in a communiqué signed by its President, Joe Ajaero, and General Secretary, Emma Ugboaja, accused the telecom operators of violating public confidence by executing the pricing hike before the 10-man review panel’s deliberations were completed.
The union also accused the government of neglecting to safeguard citizens from corporate exploitation.
The NLC claimed that the tariff rise was a betrayal of public confidence, considering the earlier agreement to form a committee to assess the proposed raise.
However, the NSCDC urged the NLC to reconsider its planned demonstration, warning that disrupting telecom services might expose the country to criminal activity and jeopardize national security.
Afolabi made it clear that the agency will not tolerate any actions that jeopardize national security.
He claimed that state commandants had been instructed to maintain 24-hour monitoring at telecom installations, with a nationwide deployment of cops, including undercover operatives, to defend these assets.
Citing the importance of telecommunications to national security, the corps said that any disruption could lead to vandalism and other criminal activity.
He added, “Already, the NSCDC commandant-general has directed state commandants to maintain round-the-clock surveillance in and around all the telecom masts in their locations.
“Also, there is going to be a nationwide massive deployment of the officers and men of the corps, including undercover and intelligence operatives, to maintain peace and ensure that all the government and corporate organizations’ critical national assets and infrastructure are protected from the miscreants who might likely use the opportunity of the planned protest to carry out their criminal activities.’’
“Available credible intelligence already established the fact that the planned protest will be hijacked by hoodlums, and that is why the NSCDC is on top of the situation,” he further stated.
The NSCDC advocated for talks to resolve the disagreement, hoping that the NLC would alter its position.
Afolabi stated, “The NSCDC, under the leadership of Commandant-General, Dr. Ahmed Audi, is appealing to the organized labor under the umbrella of the Nigeria Labour Congress to shelve their planned protest of March 01, 2025, and the move to shut down telecommunication facilities nationwide.
“Although peaceful protests are allowed under the law, experience and fallouts of similar threats in the past necessitate the need to appeal to the NLC not to embark on any action that will further affect the security of the country.
“NSCDC will not fold its arms and allow any action that will expose the nation’s security and eventually compromise economic stability and public safety under the guise of protesting the increase in telecom services tariffs.
“The scars of similar protests that turned violent in the past are still there as reference points, and the NSCDC and other security agencies in the country will not allow the miscreants, hoodlums, and other non-state actors to hide under the guise of the NLC protest to loot and vandalize government and corporate organizations assets and infrastructure.”
The NSCDC emphasized its commitment to protecting the nation’s key infrastructure and stated that it is prepared to take decisive legal action against individuals who threaten the country’s security.
“The NSCDC is committed to safeguarding the lives of Nigerians and property of the government and corporate organizations. We are ready to take decisive actions against any individual or group that embarks on any action that can jeopardize the security architecture of the country,” he added.
The corps stated that it has placed its personnel on high alert and warned that anyone found engaging in illegal activities during the protest will be dealt with according to the law.
“We still believe that dialogue remains the best solution and we hope that organised labour will listen to the voice of reason and jaw-jaw with the government. We advise organised labour leaders to stay away from base stations and telecom mast locations as NSCDC personnel have been placed on red alert.
“Anybody found wanting will be dealt with according to the stipulated law of the country,” the spokesperson cautioned.
