The African Regional Organisation of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC-Africa) has demanded the immediate rescue of teachers and students abducted in Oyo State. The General Secretary of the labour group, Joel Odigie, issued a solidarity statement to the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), and all workers affected by the escalating wave of insecurity and abductions across Nigeria. He commended the Nigerian labour movement for taking a principled stand in defence of teachers, students, and communities that continue to live and work under the threat of violence, kidnapping, and fear.
Abductions as an Assault on Social Contract
ITUC-Africa stated that the repeated abduction of schoolchildren and teachers is more than a security challenge; it is a direct assault on the social contract between citizens and the state. The organisation emphasised that a country that cannot protect its children is a danger to itself. It maintained that the protection of life and security is not a political favour but a constitutional duty. According to ITUC-Africa, the first responsibility of the government forms the foundation upon which education, employment, investment, and development depend. It reiterated that a country failing to protect its own children poses a risk to its own future.
Criminal Networks and Government Action
ITUC-Africa expressed deep concern that mass abductions are increasingly resembling a criminal industry. Schools and communities must never become hunting grounds for criminal networks. Governments at all levels must act decisively to dismantle these networks, rescue victims, strengthen security institutions, and restore public confidence. The state must not allow conditions in which terrorist and criminal groups can normalise the kidnapping of children and workers as a profitable enterprise. The consequences of insecurity extend far beyond immediate victims, destroying livelihoods, disrupting education, discouraging investment, weakening public services, and undermining productivity.
Workers cannot produce under fear, teachers cannot teach under fear, and children cannot learn in fear. ITUC-Africa urged the Federal Government of Nigeria and all relevant authorities to move beyond routine assurances and take urgent, measurable action to secure schools, workplaces, and communities. The Nigerian people deserve safety, dignity, and peace. ITUC-Africa joined the NLC in demanding the immediate and unconditional release of all abducted teachers, pupils, students, and other citizens wherever they are being held. The warning signs are clear, and the costs of delay are mounting. The organisation called for decisive action before it is too late.
Continental Rally Against Kleptocracy and Inequality
Additionally, the continental labour group has joined workers' organisations, trade unionists, and allies from across the continent to rally on the margins of the 114th session of the International Labour Conference. They demand decisive action against kleptocracy, extreme inequality, and violent conflicts across Africa. ITUC-Africa insisted that kleptocracy, inequality, and violent conflicts are undermining democracy, development, and social justice in Africa. Across the continent, workers and citizens continue to bear the high costs of corruption, illicit financial flows (IFFs), state capture, and unsustainable debt. Resources that should finance schools, hospitals, social protection systems, infrastructure, and decent jobs are often diverted away from the public good.
ITUC-Africa and its allies called for stronger measures to combat corruption and illicit financial flows, promote transparency and accountability, and implement progressive taxation, including fair taxation of high-net-worth individuals and multinational corporations. The rally highlighted the urgent need to confront rising inequality.
