By Victor Ahiuma-Young
A fresh labour crisis is brewing in Ogun State following allegations that 580 workers of companies under the Western Metal Products Company Limited (WEMPCO) Group were forcibly evicted from their workplaces at gunpoint by armed police personnel.
The allegation was contained in an open petition dated August 17, 2026, addressed to the Minister of Labour and Employment by Abope Chambers on behalf of the Steel and Engineering Workers Union of Nigeria (SEWUN) and the affected workers.
The lawyers warned that the jobs of an additional 1,321 workers across 14 companies could be at risk if the dispute is not urgently resolved.
According to the petition, the alleged incident occurred on June 9, 2026, when a Receiver/Manager appointed by the Federal High Court in a suit involving United Bank for Africa Plc and WEMPCO allegedly arrived at the premises of several companies accompanied by “numerous heavily armed Police personnel.”
The lawyers alleged that the Receiver/Manager “forcefully evicted 580 employees at gun point” and that the affected workers had since been prevented from returning to their workplaces.
The companies listed in the petition include NFE Industries Limited, United Rolling Mills Limited, Knight Metal Manufacturing Company Limited, WEMPCO Steel Mills Company Limited, Nigerian Enamelware Plc, Universal Nigeria Industries Company Limited, Porcelainware Industries Limited, Superior Metal Manufacturing Company Limited, Prime Nigeria Tiles Company Limited and Prime Nigeria Wood Products Company Limited.
The petition stated that Porcelainware Industries Limited accounted for 302 of the affected workers, while 88 employees of WEMPCO Steel Mills Company Limited were allegedly affected.
The lawyers described the alleged action as a “brazen act of illegality”, arguing that the Receiver/Manager exceeded the authority granted by the court.
“The arbitrary and forceful eviction of Five Hundred and Eighty (580) workers at gun point from their workplaces, with the involvement of heavily armed police personnel must be deprecated,” they stated.
They argued that the court order appointing the Receiver/Manager was limited to specified assets of WEMPCO and did not authorise the eviction of workers from the other companies.
“The Court Order did not authorize the eviction of any worker at all,” the petition stated, adding that the 10 companies whose workers were allegedly evicted were “independent limited liability companies with distinct legal personalities.”
The petition also challenged the alleged deployment of armed police personnel, maintaining that the Receiver/Manager had no court order authorising police officers to forcibly evict the workers.
“The R/M did not obtain Order of Court to engage Police personnel to forcefully evict workers at gun point,” the lawyers alleged.
They further argued that the court order did not direct that vacant possession of the premises should be obtained by evicting employees or through the use of force.
“In a society governed by the Rule of law,” the lawyers stated, “Police personnel are to execute lawful orders expressly directed at the Police by the Court.”
The petition also cited provisions of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, arguing that although a receiver/manager has certain powers over assets and, in specified circumstances, may employ or dismiss workers, such powers do not amount to an unrestricted authority to terminate employment relationships arbitrarily.
The lawyers cited judicial authorities from the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal in support of their position, stressing that a receiver/manager, as an officer of the court, must operate within the confines of the order appointing him.
They also relied on the principle that receivership does not automatically extinguish existing statutory obligations and employment relationships.
The dispute has raised concerns over its potential economic impact on the affected workers and their dependants.
The petition said the workers had been “seriously disturbed, psychologically devastated and socially destabilized” because they could no longer meet basic needs, including rent, food, transportation, electricity, medical expenses and their children’s education.
It added that the workers had been “gathering peacefully to protest the arbitrary actions” allegedly taken against them.
The lawyers urged the Minister of Labour and Employment to invoke his powers under the Trade Disputes Act and refer the matter to the National Industrial Court of Nigeria.
Specifically, they asked the minister to act under Section 17(b) of the Trade Disputes Act, which, according to the petition, empowers the minister to refer a trade dispute directly to the National Industrial Court where reference to an arbitration tribunal would not be appropriate.
The lawyers warned that the scale of the dispute required urgent government intervention, stressing that the WEMPCO Group provides direct and indirect employment to a significant number of Nigerians.
They also warned that prolonged uncertainty over the workers’ employment could worsen unemployment and contribute to social and economic insecurity.
“Given the size of the workers whose fate is immediately at stake in this Dispute,” the lawyers urged the minister to consider “the direct and indirect jobs” created by the WEMPCO Group in the Nigerian economy.
They further warned of the link between unemployment and “different forms of criminalities, physical, social and economic insecurities.”
The petition therefore called on the Labour Minister to “speedily intervene to safeguard jobs, social stability and prevent avoidable social chaos and anarchy in the Nigerian industrial relations system.”
SEWUN and its legal representatives are seeking government intervention to resolve the dispute and determine whether the ongoing receivership can lawfully result in the termination or disruption of existing employment relationships.
The union warned that failure to resolve the dispute could leave more than 1,300 workers and their dependants facing prolonged economic uncertainty, with wider implications for industrial peace and employment in Ogun State.
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