*Ajaero Informed Service Of UK Trip Before Arrest, Says Lawyer

*Air Peace: Police Acted On Petition After It Had Been Withdrawn

THE President of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, was on Monday night, September 9, released on bail by the Department of State Service (DSS), following his arrest earlier in the day at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, en-route to the United Kingdom (UK) to attend Labour conference in London.

A former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, who confirmed Ajaero’s release in a post on X on Monday night: “The fascist regime of @officialABAT has released @NLCHeadquarters President Joe Ajaero from @OfficialDSSNG custody on bail. The @NLCHeadquarters must declare for #FearlessInOctober #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria. No Going Back.”

Ajaero’s lawyer, Maxwell Opara, has disclosed that the labour leader informed the DSS about his trip to UK for an official engagement, after it had invited him a couple of days ago via a telephone call, informing the secret Police that he would honour the invitation on Monday, September 16, upon his return from the UK to Nigeria.

“They (DSS) invited him on the phone. He told them that he was engaged with the World Trade Union Congress. He had committed to meeting with the DSS on Monday when he returns from the UK,” Opara told an online newspaper.

He accused the Nigerian government of attempting to undermine Ajaero’s advocacy and his leadership of the NLC through his arrest, alleging that the arrest was part of a broader strategy to disrupt the NLC president’s efforts on behalf of Nigerian workers.

Opara criticised the Service for allegedly misrepresenting Ajaero’s schedule, accusing the government of deliberately attempting to remove the labour leader from office and replace him with somebody more aligned with its interests.

“The government wants to push him out. The DSS claimed Ajaero was invited, despite his clear communication about his availability. This is a deliberate attempt to disrupt his work.

“The timing and nature of this arrest suggest an effort to weaken Ajaero’s influence and consolidate control over the labour movement,” he added.

      Following reports that the DSS arrested the NLC president over failure to honour the invitation based on a petition against him last year by local airline, Air Peace, the Nigeria’s flag carrier, in a statement on Monday, September 9, by its spokesperson, Omotade Makinwa, said the Service may have acted on the petition a year after it was withdrawn.

According to the statement: “Air Peace Airline expresses deep concern over recent media reports regarding the arrest of the President of the NLC in connection to a petition filed by the airline in September 2023.

“This development, which has led to negative publicity, does not reflect the current relationship between Air Peace and the NLC.

      “It is important to clarify the events leading up to the petition. On May 3, 2023, the NLC disrupted Air Peace operations as part of a broader conflict with the Imo State Government.

“Although Air Peace had no involvement in the dispute between the NLC and the Imo State Government, our airline was unfortunately used as a tool to exert pressure on the government. 

“This unlawful disruption of our services caused significant financial losses and impacted the travel plans of many Nigerians across multiple states.

“In response to this disruption, Air Peace’s legal team submitted a formal petition against the NLC to the Nigerian Police. Despite our repeated efforts to follow up on the petition, the Police failed to take prompt action.”

      Makinwa said over a year later, the Police may have chosen to act on the original petition, “which has now led to the alleged arrest of the NLC president.

“Before this arrest, the airline and the NLC had already reached an amicable resolution and Air Peace had withdrawn its petition, allowing a positive working relationship to resume between the two organisations.”

Ajaero has been having a running battle with the Police, which on August 19, invited him for questioning over “a case of criminal conspiracy, terrorism financing, treasonable felony, subversion and cybercrime”.

Earlier on Monday, the NLC had convened an emergency meeting, where it demanded Ajaero’s release by midnight of Monday or risk a shutdown of the Nigerian economy, instructing its affiliate organisations to be on red alert while waiting for the release of its president.

In a communique released after the meeting by the National Administrative Council (NAC) in Abuja, the NLC warned that no effort would be spared towards halting what it described as the sliding of Nigeria into a state of authoritarianism in view of Ajaero’s arrest.

NLC’s Deputy President, Adeyanju Adewale, who signed the communique, also summoned an emergency meeting of the National Executive Council (NEC) for Tuesday, September 10, where further directives would be given to workers.

According to the communique: “The Council unequivocally condemns the brazen and illegal detention of Ajaero by the Nigerian State without any legal warrant or justification.

“The NLC notes with grave concern that 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 Council reiterates that 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.

     “All its affiliates, state councils, civil society allies and the Nigerian populace on red alert. The detention of Ajaero is an attack, not just on the NLC leadership, but on the rights of all workers and citizens to organise, 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.

“The NLC reaffirms its commitment to defending the rights of Nigerian workers and citizens. The Congress will not relent in its efforts to oppose all forms of oppression.”

While urging government to “reverse this dangerous trend of authoritarianism and lawlessness, which threatens the country’s democratic fabric,” NAC-in-session also demanded the immediate implementation of the new national minimum wage, vowing that the NLC would not waver in its duty to protect the rights of workers and the freedom of all Nigerians.