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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 17 ก.ย. 2024
- The State Security Service (SSS) has released Joe Ajaero, the president of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), after detaining him for approximately 15 hours on Monday. Ajaero was released around 11 p.m. but had his passport confiscated. He was handed over to his lawyer, Abubakar Marshall, of Falana and Falana Chambers, following his arrest at 7 a.m. that morning at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
Abubakar Marshall confirmed Ajaero's release to PREMIUM TIMES, stating that the SSS required Ajaero to be available for further questioning if necessary. “The NLC President, Joe Ajaero, has returned to his home,” Marshall said.
Ajaero was arrested at the Abuja airport while en route to the United Kingdom to attend a World Trade Union Congress (WTUC) event. His detention triggered widespread criticism of President Bola Tinubu’s government, with organizations like Amnesty International demanding Ajaero’s unconditional release. The NLC, through its spokesperson Benson Upah, condemned the arrest, describing it as part of a growing crackdown on human rights under Tinubu’s administration.
In an interview with PREMIUM TIMES, another lawyer representing Ajaero, Maxwell Opara, criticized the arrest, stating that Ajaero had informed the SSS of his official trip to the UK. According to Opara, Ajaero had been invited by the SSS for questioning a few days prior but had agreed to meet them after returning from his trip on September 16.
Opara suggested that the arrest was an attempt by the government to undermine Ajaero’s leadership and advocacy for Nigerian workers. He alleged that there was a plot to remove Ajaero from his position and replace him with someone more favorable to government interests. “The government wants to push him out,” Opara stated, adding that the SSS’s claim of an invitation was an excuse to disrupt Ajaero's work.
The NLC and Ajaero have faced ongoing tensions with the government. In recent weeks, Ajaero has been summoned by the authorities twice, including in a matter involving 70-year-old British socialist Andrew Wynne, who operates a bookstore in the Labour House where the NLC headquarters is located. The Nigerian government recently declared Wynne wanted, accusing him of involvement in organizing protests, including those linked to the #EndBadGovernance movement, which the government claims are part of a plot to overthrow President Tinubu. Wynne has denied these allegations, asserting that protests are not treasonous.
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