Ajaero, DSS arrest saga

On Monday, the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Joe Ajaero was in the news following his arrest by operatives of the Department of the State Service (DSS).

Ajaero was about to board a flight to the United Kingdom (UK) for an official assignment when DSS picked him up.

He was billed to attend the conference of Trade Union Congress (TUC) in the UK.

The secret police said the arrest was in connection with the ongoing investigation of a wanted Briton, Andrew Whynne.

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Following the arrest, the NLC alerted all its affiliates, state councils, and Nigerian workers, urging them to remain vigilant and on high alert.

The union also demanded the release of Ajaero before 12 midnight of Monday.

The DSS released Ajaero a few minutes before the 12 midnight ultimatum issued by the organised labour.

Ajaero’s arrest drew wide criticisms from prominent Nigerians, rights groups and civil society organisations, including Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, Amnesty International, TUC of the UK, CISLAC and  HURIWA, among others.

The UK TUC, which demanded an immediate halt to the harassment of Ajaero and other labour leaders, expressed outrage over the arrest of the NLC President by the DSS.

The federal government, however, justified Ajaero’s arrest saying, the labour leader refused to honour a law enforcement agency’s invitation.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, insisted that the arrest had nothing to do with his role as NLC president and rejected accusations of human rights abuses.

It would be recalled that the NLC President had on Thursday, August 20, also honoured an invitation by the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) arm of the Police Force.

This followed the police summons on August 19, asking him to appear the next day, and threatening him with arrest should he fail to comply.

But Ajaero, through human rights activist Femi Falana (SAN), wrote to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) explaining why he could not honour the summon on the said date.