Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2025, published 114th ILC session (2026)

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Nigeria (Ratification: 1960)

The Committee notes the observations made by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), received on 1 September 2025, alleging: (i) violent occupation of the NLC Edo State Secretariat; (ii) removal of the duly elected chairperson of the NLC Edo State Administrative Council; and (iii) harassment and intimidation of union leaders, including the use of police and security services to block the inauguration of a caretaker committee pending new elections to that Council. In this respect, the Committee recalls that in 2023, the NLC raised similar concerns regarding the interference by the Imo State with its elected leadership. The Committee also notes the observations of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and the ITUC-Africa, received respectively on 2 September and 11 September 2025, alleging a steady deterioration of civil liberties and freedom of association in the country through violent suppression of protests and strikes, intimidation, harassment and arrest of trade union members and state interference in trade union affairs. The Committee requests the Government to provide its comments on all of the above.

In its previous comments, the Committee noted the serious allegations made by the ITUC and the NLC between 2015 and 2024, concerning intimidation, harassment, persecution, repeated interrogations, and arrest of trade union leaders and members including the physical assault of the NLC president during his custody by state authorities; intervention in trade union affairs, such as interference in internal election processes; excessive use of police force and anti-union violence during peaceful demonstrations and strikes resulting in injury as well as deaths, and an increasing anti-union climate in the country.

The Committee notes from the information supplied by the Government to the Committee on the Application of Standards of the International Labour Conference (Conference Committee) in June 2025 that consultations with the social partners regarding the prosecution and arrests of union members had taken place, and that a report on these consultations would soon be submitted. Concerning the alleged invasion of the NLC headquarters, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that the operation targeted a tenant suspected of activities prejudicial to State security, not the union itself. Regarding the allegations in respect of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), including the police invasion at the union’s headquarters, interference with its elected leadership, and the banning of its activities in several states, the Committee notes that the Government limits itself to indicating that “the issue” was identified as an internal dispute, which the union was advised to resolve through its own mechanisms. While taking note of the Government’s commitment to addressing the issues raised, the Committee notes with deep regret that the Government has once again not provided any concrete information regarding the repeated and serious allegations made by the ITUC and the NLC over many years. The Committee therefore firmly urges the Government to provide detailed comments on each of the specific allegations made by the ITUC and the NLC, and to transmit the above-mentioned report on the consultations with the social partners regarding the prosecution and arrests of union members.

Civil liberties. The Committee recalls its previous requests for detailed information on the outcome of the judicial proceedings concerning the eight suspects arrested in connection with the assassination of Mr Alhaji Saula Saka, the Lagos Zonal Chairman of the NURTW. The Committee deeply regrets that the Government refers to ongoing investigations by the Nigeria Police Force and that no resolution appears to have been reached yet regarding the events that occurred in 2010. The Committee once again firmly urges the Government to provide information on the outcome of the judicial proceedings, and, in the case of conviction, on the nature and implementation of the sentence.

Article 3 of the Convention. Right of workers to join organizations of their own choosing. The Committee previously noted the 2016 judgment of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria concerning allegations that teachers in federal educational institutions were denied the right to belong to the professional union of their choice. It noted that the Court had concluded that, as civil servants employed by the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC), these teachers were automatically members of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN), but that any worker wishing to disassociate from the ASCSN could do so by notifying the employer in writing. The Committee notes that the Government indicates that the judgment remains in effect, and once again refers to section 12(4) of the Trade Unions Act and sections 9(6) and 5(3) of the Labour Act (i.e. legal provisions on the voluntary nature of trade union membership). In this respect, the Committee once again recalls that it is important for workers to be able to change trade union or to establish a new union for reasons of independence, effectiveness or ideological choice and that trade union unity imposed directly or indirectly by law is contrary to the Convention (2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, para. 92). The Committee requests the Government to provide information on whether measures have been considered to ensure that workers employed by the FCSC have the right to directly affiliate with the union of their choice, instead of having to opt out after being automatically registered with the ASCSN.

Freedom of association in export processing zones (EPZs). In its previous comments, the Committee noted that certain provisions of the EPZ Authority Decree of 1992 restrict workers’ ability to join trade unions, since worker representatives face significant obstacles in accessing EPZs. It noted the Government’s indications that there were six trade unions operating in EPZs, as well as its reference to efforts to adopt sector-specific guidelines, including one covering EPZs.

The Committee notes from the information supplied by the Government to the Conference Committee in June 2025 that draft ministerial oil and gas sector guidelines, which address the issues raised by the Committee were reviewed by all the stakeholders and are currently awaiting validation; once implemented, they will generate the requested data on unions operating in EPZs. Expecting that progress will be made in the very near future to bring the legislation into conformity with the Convention, the Committee requests the Government to continue to inform on any developments regarding the review and/or adoption of relevant ministerial guidelines. The Committee also once again requests the Government to provide detailed information on the number of trade unions operating in EPZs.

Articles 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the reform of the labour legislation undertaken in consultation with the social partners. It further noted the Government’s indication that this process would provide an opportunity for the social partners to consider the Committee’s long-standing requests for amendments to the Trade Unions Act, as set out below:

• section 3(1) of the Trade Unions Act, which requires at least 50 workers to form a trade union, so that it does not apply to enterprise-level unions (while this threshold may be acceptable for industry-wide trade unions, it could prevent union formation at the enterprise-level, particularly in small enterprises);
• section 3(2) of the Trade Unions Act to remove restrictions on registering new trade unions where a trade union already exists;
• section 7(9) of the Trade Unions Act to remove the Minister’s broad authority to revoke a trade union’s registration;
• section 11 of the Trade Unions Act to grant the right to organize to employees in the Customs and Excise Department, Immigration Department, prison services, the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company Limited, the Central Bank of Nigeria, and Nigeria Telecommunications;
• sections 30 and 42 of the Trade Unions Act to remove restrictions on the right to strike, including compulsory arbitration, the requirement for a majority of all registered union members to call a strike, overly broad definitions of “essential services”, limitations on strike objectives, penal sanctions including imprisonment for illegal strikes, and prohibitions on gatherings or strikes that obstruct air travel, public highways, institutions or other premises;
• sections 39 and 40 of the Trade Unions Act to restrict the registrar’s authority over union accounts, limiting it to requiring periodic financial reports or investigating specific complaints, rather than granting broad powers to supervise the union accounts at any time; and
• section 34(1)(b) and (g) of the Trade Unions Act to reduce the minimum membership requirement for registering a federation from 12 trade unions to a lower number, and section 1 of the 1996 Trade Unions (International Affiliation) Act to remove the required approval of the Minister for a trade union’s international affiliation.

The Committee understands from the information supplied by the Government to the Conference Committee in June 2025 that the provisions of the Trade Unions Act will be incorporated into the new Collective Labour Relations Bill, which is currently undergoing legal drafting at the Ministry of Justice. The Committee requests the Government to take all necessary measures to ensure that the appropriate amendments are made to the above-mentioned provisions without delay so as to bring the legislation into conformity with the Convention. It also reminds the Government of the possibility to avail itself of the technical assistance of the Office in this regard.