Following Joe Ajero, the president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), being arrested and held by security personnel, the NLC leadership has begun a meeting behind closed doors.
Benson Upah, the head of NLC’s public relations, announced this in a statement on Monday, stating that the public will be informed of the meeting’s conclusion.
Upah claims that Ajaero was taken into custody by Nigerian State operatives without a formal instrument or legal warrant, and that his current whereabouts and condition are unknown.
Before his detention, he claimed, Ajaero was scheduled to speak at the International Congress of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) in the UK on behalf of Nigerian workers.
Upah called Ajaero’s arrest “a brazen act of lawlessness and intimidation as he has not been declared wanted by any law enforcement body,” denouncing his detention.
“This is a clear example of the extreme lawlessness being maintained by the Nigerian government and its agencies in their attempt to muzzle any opposition or dissenting voice in the nation while the government’s economic policies continue to cause the people immense misery and hardship.”
“Such acts are a direct violation of citizens’ and organizations’ fundamental rights to peacefully express their opinions and carry out their operations, in addition to being undemocratic and immoral.”
In view of “this troubling development,” the NLC scribe added that the union has placed all of its affiliates, State Councils, allies in civil society, and all patriotic Nigerians on the utmost alert.
He continued by requesting Ajaero’s unconditional and prompt release.
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