Abuja – Comrade Joe Ajaero, the national president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), has been released on bail by the Department of State Security (DSS).
Ajaero was arrested on Monday morning at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on his way to the United Kingdom for an official assignment.
He was billed to attend the British Trade Union Congress’ (TUC) conference in London, which started yesterday.
Ajaero was reportedly released around 11:25 pm, a few minutes to the midnight ultimatum issued by labour unions.
A top source in the NLC, confirmed his release, explaining that the secret police said the labour leader was released on bail.
Human rights activist and a former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, Omoyele Sowore, also confirmed his release via a post on X on Monday night.
A second human rights activist and one of the lawyers of the NLC, Deji Adeyanju, also confirmed the release of the labour president.
Earlier in the day, members of the organised labour, comprising the NLC and the TUC had threatened to shun their respective places of work and some critical facilities that are driving the country’s economy in protest against the arrest of Comrade Ajaero.
This was just as the leadership of the NLC put its over 50 affiliate unions and state branches on standby for protest, if Ajaero was not released by or before midnight.
One of Ajaero’s lawyers, Maxwell Opara, said that the labour leader had informed the DSS about his trip to the United Kingdom for an official engagement.
He said the DSS had invited Ajaero a couple of days ago via a telephone call but that he told the secret police that he would honour the invitation on Monday, 16th September, 2024, 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 Premium Times.
The NLC had described the labour leader’s arrest as “an attempt to suppress its members’ voice” amidst biting hunger and hardships.
Ajaero was grilled for hours at the secret police’s headquarters in Abuja before his release last night.
Security sources revealed that the labour leader was intercepted over alleged terrorism financing – similar allegation over which the Nigeria Police Force had earlier levelled against him.
According to a source, Ajaero had been invited by the secret police based on issues that border on “national security”, after a petition was submitted against him but that he refused to honour the invitation.
“Our friend and brother, Comrade Ajaero knew why our operatives prevented him from his journey abroad. He was actually intercepted at the airport due to his failure to honour an invitation extended to him by the service,” the source told Daily Trust news agency.
“An invitation was sent to him since last week concerning a petition filed by top NLC leaders against him, and based on this, we have to invite him since the issues raised in the petition bothered on national security.
“Our new director-general, Mr Oluwatosin Ajayi, inherited the matter and when he assumed duty, he insisted that we first invite the NLC president to clear the air on some of the allegations but he did not honour the invitation.”
The source added: “Last week, we invited him (Ajaero) through the normal channel, which is on the telephone. A very senior director extended the invitation and was mandated to handle the investigation.
“Ajaero promised to come today, Monday. The next thing we heard was that Ajaero was sighted at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, trying to board an international flight. No responsible security organisation will fold its hands in the face of such contempt.”
A few hours after Ajaero’s arrest, operatives of the DSS laid siege to the office of the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) located in Zone 1, Wuse, Abuja.
Although details of the operation at SERAP’s office were still sketchy, the legal and advocacy organisation said the operatives demanded to see its directors.
“Officers from SSS are presently unlawfully occupying SERAP’s office in Abuja, asking to see our directors.
“President Tinubu must immediately direct the SSS to end the harassment, intimidation and attack on the rights of Nigerians,” the organisation wrote on X on Monday.
The group had on Sunday given President Tinubu 48 days to reverse the recent hike in the pump price of premium motor spirit (PMS).
Less than one hour after Ajaero was arrested, the leadership of the congress summoned an emergency National Administrative Council (NAC) meeting at the Labour House.
The meeting, presided over by the Deputy President, Comrade Prince Adeyanju Adewale, said the organised labour would begin action today (Tuesday) if Ajaero was detained beyond midnight.
In a communiqué he read after the meeting, Adewale said the NAC asked the federal government to reverse what he described as a “dangerous trend of authoritarianism and lawlessness, which threatens the country’s democratic fabric.”
It read in part: “The National Administrative Council (NAC) of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) 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 (TUC) of Britain, representing Nigerian workers in critical discussions on workers’ rights and social justice.
“After extensive deliberation, the NAC resolved as follows:
“Condemnation of the detention: 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.
“Demand for immediate and unconditional release: The NLC demands the immediate and unconditional release of Comrade Joe Ajaero before 12 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.
“State of alert: 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 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.
“Mobilisation for further action: 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.”
The TUC, the Amnesty International, the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), among many individuals and organisations had condemned the act of the DSS.