Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, has called on the Federal Government to intervene and address the allegation that the owner of Dangote Refinery, Aliko Dangote is planning to force newly hired drivers to sign contracts that restrain them from joining established unions within the oil and gas sector.

Recall that the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers,

NUPENG, on Friday, announced that its members would stop work and start looking for alternative employment beginning from September 8.

NUPENG maintained that the action was a direct reaction to the allegation that Dangote Refinery was making frantic efforts to restrain its Compressed Natural Gas, CNG, tanker drivers from affiliating with labour unions.

Meanwhile, the Petroleum Tanker Drivers, PTD, and the Direct Trucking Company Drivers Association, DTCDA, have both said that they would not participate in the strike organized by NUPENG.

Reacting, Falana stated that the Dangote Group’s policy contravenes Section 40 of the Nigerian Constitution, amongst others.

The senior lawyer also said that the policy breaches several international agreements Nigeria has ratified.

The National Union of Petroleum and Gas Workers had directed its large members in the oil and gas industry to embark on indefinite strike on Monday, September 9, 2025.

The strike is a protest against the plan of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery to force newly recruited drivers to sign an undertaking not to belong to any existing union in the oil and gas industry in the country.

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Another petroleum tanker explosion occurred at Gujungu town in Taura Local Government of Jigawa State.

Eyewitness said that the incident happened on Sunday night when the tanker was about uploading the fuel in a filling station.

He said security personnel cordoned the area and residents and road users were prevented from getting access to the scene.

He said no casualty was recorded but properties worth billions of Naira were destroyed.

Police Spokesman, SP Lawan Shiisu Adam, confirmed the incident. He said police will issue an official statement after investigation.

It was observed that the incident happened kilometres away from Majia town, where the previous incident occurred that killed over 100 persons.

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Nigeria’s Department of State Services (DSS) has formally written to billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk, demanding the shutdown of activist Omoyele Sowore’s X (formerly Twitter) account for comments critical of President Bola Tinubu.

A letter dated September 6, 2025, and addressed to Musk in his capacity as Chairman and CEO of X Corp., accused Sowore, publisher of Sahara Reporters, of using his verified handle to push “misleading information, incitement to violence, hate speech, cybercrime, and disparagement of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

The two-page document, signed by B. Bamigboye on behalf of the DSS Director General, cited an August 25 post where Sowore referred to President Tinubu as a “criminal” and accused him of lying during a trip to Brazil.

“This criminal @officialABAT actually went to Brazil to state that there is no more corruption under his regime in Nigeria. What audacity to lie shamelessly!” Sowore had posted.

According to the DSS, such remarks amount to ridicule of the president and a “serious threat to national security.” The agency demanded that Musk enforce an “immediate and urgent ban/deactivation” of Sowore’s account and any affiliated handles within 24 hours. It warned that failure to comply could force Nigeria to impose “far-reaching, sweeping and across-the-board measures” against X.

Reacting on Facebook, Sowore described the DSS request as “a national disgrace” and “an assault on institutions and common sense.”

“It came as no surprise to discover a ridiculously crafted letter from the DSS to X, demanding that my account be deactivated within 24 hours,” he wrote. “This brazenness is not only unconstitutional but also a desecration of national dignity.”

He accused the Tinubu government of hiding behind security agencies to persecute him, citing past arrests, travel restrictions, and a recent court case that branded him a “terrorism financier.”

“To export this shame to Twitter in the US shows how far Nigeria has sunk into the hands of its most incompetent and dysfunctional citizens,” he added, vowing that his activism would continue “with or without a Twitter account.”

Sowore’s clash with the DSS is not new. In 2019, under former President Muhammadu Buhari, he was arrested ahead of the #RevolutionNow protests, detained for months, denied bail, and restricted from traveling abroad despite multiple court rulings. He was charged with treason, but the case was dropped in 2023 when Attorney General Lateef Fagbemi entered a nolle prosequi, formally ending the trial.

Despite the discontinuation, Sowore insists that security agencies under Tinubu have continued to harass him — now extending the battle to Silicon Valley.

Culled from the People’s Gazette

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