The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) says Joe Ajaero, its president, did not shun the invitation of the Department of State Services (DSS).
In a statement on Wednesday, Benson Upah, NLC spokesperson,
said Ajaero is a law-abiding citizen, noting that it is not in his character to
disregard invitations from law enforcement agencies.
THE ARREST
On Monday, Ajaero was arrested at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport
in Abuja while he was about to board a flight to the United Kingdom (UK).
The NLC spokesperson said Ajaero was going to the UK at
Britain’s Trade Union Congress (TUC) invitation.
After the labour leader’s arrest, NLC alerted all its
affiliates, state councils, and Nigerian workers to remain “vigilant and on
high alert”.
The labour union also demanded his “unconditional” release
before midnight. But the DSS released the NLC president on Monday night.
Ajaero was arrested for failing to honour a police
invitation over a petition by Air Peace Airlines.
Sources told TheCable that Ajaero also failed to honour an
invitation by the DSS over an alleged case of extortion.
However, Omotade Makinwa, Air Peace spokesperson, said the
police acted a year after the petition was withdrawn.
Amid the reactions trailing the arrest, the presidency said
Ajaero is not above the law in Nigeria, adding that the NLC president failed to
honour the summons of the law enforcement agencies.
‘AJAERO’S INTERACTION WITH DSS BEFORE ARREST’
Upah asked members of the public to “disregard” the report
that Ajaero failed to honour the invitation of the DSS.
He added that the days before the arrest, the NLC president
interacted with the DSS director-general on a courtesy visit.
“We would like to set the records straight as follows: In
the days preceding his arrest, the congress president had a discussion with the
DG DSS on a courtesy visit,” the statement reads.
“A director in the
agency later called the general secretary of the congress on the need to fix a
date for the courtesy visit.
“The general secretary, however, explained to him that he
would not be available until Friday (September 13). The said director assured
him they would give congress leadership a notice of not less than 48 hours for
the visit.
“The DG DSS last
spoke with Comrade Ajaero on Saturday night, during which Ajaero told him he
would be travelling the next day, Sunday, adding that the courtesy visit would
be paid after his return on Friday, September 13.
“The congress president, however, missed his flight on
Sunday and had it rescheduled to Monday, September 9th. It was on that Monday
morning he was picked up by the operatives of the DSS in a watch list operation
on behalf of a sister agency.
“We want to reaffirm
that Joe Ajaero is a law-abiding citizen heading the biggest pan-Nigerian
organisation with an illustrious history of patriotism and will certainly not
snub the DSS.
“He is a trade unionist of international repute who serves
on the executive boards of world federations of trade unions. His constituency
goes beyond Nigeria.
“It is not in his
character to disregard invitations and precedents (his honouring the police
invitation) attest to this.”
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