The Kaduna State governor Nasir el-Rufai has equated the industrial strike action by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to banditry. A statement released on Tuesday afternoon stated that the Kaduna State Government “views the actions of the NLC as equivalent to the actions of the bandits kidnapping and menacing our citizens.”

The Kaduna State government has in the past few months failed to deal with issues of insecurity. Students from the Federal College of Forestry Mechanization, Afaka and students from Greenfield University were abducted by armed bandits in March and April respectively.

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Out of the 23 kidnapped students of Greenfield University, five were killed by the bandits. The statement by the Kaduna State government further read, “Bandits illegally use arms, but the NLC is deploying mob action for exactly the same ends: trying to hold hostage the freedoms, economic interests, livelihoods and resources of the people of Kaduna State. It is a vain expectation that this government will respond differently to sets of unlawful actions that have the same ends.”

The NLC strike action is currently in its second day and has seen a major stop to economic activities in the state. Electricity, flight and train services have all bee stopped due to the industrial strike.

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“Efforts to dress up criminal activity as industrial action do not change the reality of lawbreaking that has unfolded, including their persistently ignoring the prohibition against impeding essential services.”