“NLC President Joe Ajaero Not Arrested, We Rescued Him From Mob Attack” – Police

The Imo State Police Command refuted claims of arresting and brutalizing the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero in Owerri, the state’s capital.

KanyiDaily recalls that NLC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Benson Upah alleged that Joe Ajaero was arrested by heavily armed police officers at the Imo council secretariat of the NLC during a protest against the alleged mistreatment of workers in Imo.

Upah, who later confirmed Ajaero’s release and his transfer to the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Owerri, described his maltreatment as an act of abduction that degenerated into attempted murder.

Reacting to the incident, the spokesperson for the Imo police command, Henry Okoye clarified that Ajaero engaged in a heated argument with people who resisted the picketing of the state airport.

Okoye denied reports that the police arrested the NLC President, stressing that he was taken into protective custody at the state police headquarters to prevent further mob attack.

The statement read in part, “It is pertinent to state that the NLC President was in Owerri as part of arrangements of the Congress to mobilise workers for a mega protest rally in the state.

“In the course of their planning, it was reported that suggestions arose for the lockdown of some essential facilities particularly the airport which led to some workers and other individuals resisting the picketing process leading to scuffles and heated arguments and an eventual attack on the person of the president by a mob.

“Upon receiving this report, the Imo Police Command swiftly deployed police operatives to the scene where the Officer in Charge exercised his operational discretion by taking the NLC President into protective custody at the State Command Headquarters to ensure the protection of his life and that he was not lynched in the scuffle that followed.

“The Commissioner of Police thereafter directed that he should be taken to the Police Medical Services, Owerri, where he would be accorded medical attention as a result of the attack. He has therefore been accorded adequate security cover to proceed on his other legitimate engagements for the day.”

“It is however necessary to emphasize the existence of a court injunction from the National Industrial Court of Nigeria holden in Owerri with Suit No. NICN/OW/41/2023 dated 27th October, 2023, barring the NLC from holding the intended protest rally in Owerri.

“The Commissioner of Police, Imo State Police Command, CP Mohammed Ahmed Barde, therefore urges all concerned parties to ensure compliance with the Court directives so as to avoid jeopardizing the current security arrangements on Owerri and other parts of Imo State, even as the State gears up for the forthcoming electioneering process on 11th November 2023.”

KanyiDaily recalls that NLC president, Joe Ajaero recently warned that Nigeria was at risk of a “wave of devastating consequences” on its economy should the free fall of the Naira against the dollar remain unchecked.