NLC Mourns Labour Activist Abiodun Aremu, Demands Probe Into ‘Suspicious’ Hit-And-Run Death

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has expressed deep sorrow over the death of renowned labour activist and Secretary of the Joint Action Front (JAF), Comrade Abiodun Aremu, who was killed in a hit-and-run incident in Ifo, Ogun State.

In a statement on Monday, NLC President Joe Ajaero described Aremu’s death as a “tragic and painful loss” to the labour and civil society movement, calling him a “committed revolutionary” who dedicated his life to defending the rights of workers and the oppressed.

“Comrade Aremu was no ordinary man; he was a titan of the class struggle and an organic intellectual of the working people,” Ajaero said. “He devoted his life to the emancipation of the working class and the building of a just, egalitarian society.”

Ajaero noted that Aremu, fondly called “Aremson,” was instrumental in uniting the labour movement and civil society through platforms such as the Labour and Civil Society Coalition (LASCO) and the Joint Action Front (JAF).

He added that Aremu founded the Amilcar Cabral Institute of Ideological Studies, a platform that trained young activists and promoted socialist consciousness. Through the institute, he said, Aremu inspired a generation of revolutionaries committed to international solidarity, including causes in Western Sahara and Cuba.

Describing Aremu as a “true workers’ general who never wavered, never compromised, and never retreated,” Ajaero urged the government to investigate the circumstances surrounding his death, which he described as “suspicious.”

“The circumstances of his death, a so-called ‘hit-and-run’, reek of a sinister pattern reminiscent of the suspicious death of another valiant comrade, Patrick Naagbanton,” Ajaero stated.

“The NLC demands an immediate, transparent, and thorough investigation by the federal and state governments into this heinous act. We cannot, and will not, accept this as a mere accident. The Nigerian state must dispel the foul odour surrounding his death by apprehending the perpetrator and revealing the full truth. The working class deserves answers.”

The NLC president urged all workers and activists to honour Aremu’s memory by recommitting to the struggle for social justice and liberation of the working class.

According to the statement, a burial ceremony for the late activist will be held in Ifo, Ogun State, on October 23, 2025.