The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, was arrested by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) on Monday morning. The arrest took place at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja as Ajaero was preparing to travel to the United Kingdom for an official engagement.
According to sources, Ajaero was heading to London to attend the Trade Union Congress (TUC) conference, which is scheduled to start today. His arrest has been met with strong reactions from the NLC, which has condemned the action as an assault on Nigerian workers.
In a statement posted on its official X (formerly Twitter) account, the NLC declared, “The assault on Nigerian workers continues. President of the NLC, Joe Ajaero, was arrested and abducted by men of the DSS at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, this morning on his way to attend an official engagement of TUC United Kingdom, and he is now detained at the office of the NSA. This intimidation and assault must stop!!!”
The arrest follows recent tension involving Ajaero and law enforcement. The Nigeria Police Force had previously invited Ajaero for questioning over allegations including terrorism financing, cybercrime, subversion, criminal conspiracy, and treasonable felony. This scrutiny came after a police raid on the NLC national secretariat in Abuja.
The police are investigating a possible connection between Ajaero and Andrew Wynne, a Briton accused of funding protests under the #EndBadGovernance and #Hunger movements. These protests have been alleged to aim at destabilizing the government of President Bola Tinubu.
On August 29, Ajaero appeared before the police, but the scrutiny did not end there. The police, through a letter signed by Commissioner of Police Operations Ibitoye Alajide, requested Ajaero to appear again on September 5. The letter also asked NLC General Secretary Emmanuel Ugboaja to accompany Ajaero to answer questions related to criminal intimidation, public peace breaches, and property damage.
The letter stated, “In furtherance of investigations into the alleged case of criminal intimidation, conducts likely to cause breach of public peace, and malicious damage to properties in which your name featured, you are requested to come along with Comrade Emmanuel Ugboaja for an interview with the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Force Intelligence Department, FID, at the Force Intelligence Department (FID) Complex, Abuja on Thursday, 5th September 2024 at 11 am.”