FENRAD mourns passing of Comrade Abiodun Aremu, foremost labour, Civil Rights Activist

Foundation for Environmental Rights Advocacy & Development (FENRAD) joined the Nigerian labour movement, civil society, and indeed all progressives in mourning the sudden and painful demise of Comrade Abiodun Aremu, a foremost activist, revolutionary, and champion of the working people, who tragically lost his life on Sunday, October 12, 2025, in a hit-and-run incident in Ota, Ogun State.

According to the Executive Director
FENRAD Nigeria, Comrade Nelson Nnanna Nwafor, until his death, Comrade Aremu was the Secretary of the Joint Action Front (JAF), a vanguard platform for pro-labour and civil society organisations.

His tireless commitment to justice, equality, workers’ rights, and democratic advancement marked him as one of the most formidable voices of conscience in our national struggle.

“We at FENRAD recall with deep respect and admiration Comrade Aremu’s role in building enduring ideological and activist institutions, including the Labour–Civil Society Coalition (LASCO), the Kolagbodi Memorial Foundation, and the Amilcar Cabral Ideological School – Movement (ACIS-M), where he invested in nurturing a new generation of transformative leaders. He was not only a mobiliser and strategist, but also a consistent defender of the oppressed, both within Nigeria and across the continent.

“In him, the movement has lost a towering pillar of integrity, principle, and revolutionary clarity. His death is not only a personal loss to his family but a blow to the entire activist community and the working class in Nigeria.

“We commend the Aremu family and the Nigeria Labour Movement for the decision to postpone the burial to October 23, 2025, to allow comrades, allies, and organisations to pay proper tribute to a man whose life was wholly devoted to the cause of justice and liberation,” he lamented.

At this difficult time, FENRAD extended its deepest condolences to the Aremu family, Members of JAF, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC), and all comrades and activists across Nigeria and beyond.

“As we mourn, we are reminded that Comrade Abiodun Aremu’s ideas live on, and we reaffirm our commitment to the struggle for which he gave his all — a just, equitable, and democratic society,” he said.