Thousands of passengers were on Thursday stranded at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja as members of the organised labour blocked the entrance and exit to the airport. The protest which was peaceful also affected bankers and litigants at the Chief Magistrate court located within the airport.

The organised labour was protesting the brutalization of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President, Comrade Joe Ajaero at Owerri the Imo state capital last Wednesday.

The labour leaders used a luxury bus and a truck to block the main entrance to the airport, 120 meters away from the toll gate while another set blocked the exit from the airport. The truck carried a generating set , musical equipment and drinks.

Hundreds of passengers were seen dragging or carrying their luggages and trekking to the airport. The activities of the labour leaders caused a long hold-up for hours as no vehicle could either move forward or turn back.

An unidentified labour leader announced over the loudspeaker that they intend to leave the airport at noon but may be forced to stay till 6:00pm should security agents attempt to frustrate the protest.

The atmosphere, however changed at 10:36 when a combined team of soldiers, policemen, Department of State Services(DSS) and Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NCDC) swooped on the labour leaders and ordered them to vacate the entry and exit roads.

At 11:30 am, a convoy of eight vehicles – two trucks, two luxury buses and four other vehicles used by the labour leaders were seen driving out of the airport.

Also, all flights to Owerri were cancelled by the major airline operators. It was still unclear whether the flights would resume tomorrow Friday, otherwise several politicians and their supporters may not be able to get to their polling units in Imo state.

For the past one week, electricity supply to Imo state has been cut off by protesting members of the labour unions.

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