The disagreement between Organised Labour and the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, over the replacement of Chief Frank Ovie Kokori as the Chairman of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund, NSITF, yesterday range  into violence as suspected thugs attacked and injured labour leaders,  and others at the private residence of   minister of labour.

     Nine of the protesters are currently receiving treatment at the Trauma section of the National Hospital, Abuja. The injured unionists have also given statements to the police after the Fedral Capital Territory (FCT) Commissioner of Police and Director of Department of State Security (DSS), visited them at the hospital, while some police officers mounted security at the time of this report. A woman who was a victim of the alleged thugs’ attack refused to either identify herself or speak to journalists. She, however, said that her husband would make an official statement on that. The picketing of the minister’s private residence by the labour was said to have started about 5am on Wednesday with two petroleum tankers used to block the entrance and exit points of the house.
      According to the source, all effort to  get the tanker removed by the leaders proved abortive as they insisted on the picketing. Security sources had informed that the picketing took the Minister unaware and he left the house through a different means with only one car.