Ajaero’s arrest saga: DSS succumbs to pressure as NLC plans showdown

The Department of State Services has granted administrative bail to the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Joe Ajaero.

He was released a few minutes before the 12midnight ultimatum issued by the organised labour.

Pro-democracy activist and presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, Omoyele Sowore, announced his release in a tweet on Monday night.

The Peoples Democratic Party, New Nigeria Peoples Party and Social Democratic Party on Monday criticised President Bola Tinubu’s administration following the arrest of Joe Ajaero, the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, and the raid on the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project’s Abuja office by the Department of State Services.

Ajaero was arrested on Monday morning at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on his way to the United Kingdom for an official assignment.

The NLC president was billed to attend the Trade Union Congress conference in London, which begins today.

In response to its president’s arrest, the NLC held a closed-door meeting with stakeholders in Abuja on Monday, demanding Ajaero’s immediate release and instructing all chapters to prepare for a potential nationwide strike.

The NLC’s National Administrative Council in a statement issued after its meeting by Adeyanju Adewale, NLC’s deputy president, described the detention as “brazen and illegal” and an “affront to the rights of workers and democratic principles.”

The council demanded Ajaero’s release by midnight on Monday and called for the reversal of the recent petrol price hike to N617/Litre.

The NLC disclosed that it had placed its affiliates, state councils, and civil society allies on red alert, warning that it would not stand by while workers’ rights were trampled upon.

The congress reaffirmed its commitment to defending workers’ rights and opposing oppression, urging the government to reverse its “dangerous trend” and implement the new National Minimum Wage.

The communiqué read, “The National Administrative Council of the Nigeria Labour Congress convened an emergency meeting today to address the alarming and unlawful arrest and detention of Comrade Joe Ajaero, President of the NLC, by agents of the Nigerian Government.

“Comrade Ajaero was arrested and detained at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja while en route to the United Kingdom, where he was scheduled to attend and address the Congress of the Trade Union Congress of Britain, representing Nigerian workers in critical discussions on workers’ rights and social justice.

“After extensive deliberation, the NAC resolved as follows: The Council unequivocally condemns the brazen and illegal detention of Comrade Joe Ajaero by the Nigerian state without any legal warrant or justification. The NLC notes with grave concern that Comrade Ajaero was lawfully discharging his duties to represent Nigerian workers and had not committed any offence warranting such action.

“His detention is an affront to the rights of workers and the democratic principles of freedom of movement and expression.

“The NLC demands the immediate and unconditional release of Comrade Joe Ajaero before midnight today. The Council reiterates that Joe 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. NAC also demands the immediate reversal of the current hike in the price of petrol to N617/litre.

“The congress places all its affiliates, state councils, civil society allies, and the Nigerian populace on red alert. The detention of Comrade Ajaero is an attack not just on the NLC leadership but on the rights of all workers and citizens to organize, protest, and express themselves freely. The 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.”

Punch.