Mary Onyia
Amid outrage and strong condemnation, the Department of State Services, DSS, has released the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, who was arrested on Monday at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport on route to London to attend a trade conference.
Ajaero was released late Monday by the DSS following an ultimatum issued by the NLC and other trade unions and Human Rights groups calling on the government to release the arrested labour leader before 12:00 midnight on Monday or face dire consequences.
The NLC leader was released at about 11.10p.m yesterday( Monday)
Ajaero was arrested at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Aiport in Abuja, on his way to London to attend the Trade Union Congress, TUC of the United Kingdom conference, which began on Monday.
Confirming Ajaero’s arrest, the Head of Information of the NLC, Mr Benson Upah, however, said the union had no idea on the whereabouts of Ajaero, saying he (Ajaero) was arrested by the DSS.
His arrest came 11 days after he honoured an invitation by the Police on August 29, and was released the same day.
A day before he honoured the invitation, the police on August 28 re-invited Ajaero “in furtherance of investigations into an alleged case of criminal intimidation, conducts likely to cause a breach of public peace and malicious damage to properties in which your name featured.”
Those who condemned the arrest of the NLC leader, yesterday, and called for his immediate release include the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC; National Union of Electricity Employees, NUEE; Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, MWUN; Amnesty International; Peoples Democratic Party, PDP; United Action Front of Civil Society, UAFCS; and Human Rights Writers Association, HURIWA.
Soon after the news of his arrest was made public, the NLC demanded immediate and unconditional release of Ajaero before 12 midnight on Monday, saying: “Ajaero is not a fugitive or a criminal, and his detention is an act of intimidation aimed at silencing dissent and stifling the labour movement’s voice in Nigeria.”
NLC described the detention of Comrade Ajaero as an attack not just on the NLC leadership but also on the rights of all workers and citizens to organize, protest, and express themselves freely.
“NLC will not stand by while these rights are trampled upon. This provocation is another attempt by the state to scuttle the implementation of the new National Minimum Wage. The NLC reaffirms its commitment to defending the rights of Nigerian workers and citizens.”