Cmrd. Joe Ajaero, NLC President.
The arrest on Monday Cmrd. Joe Ajaero, President of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) by the Department of State Services (DSS), has been applauded by the Odua Peoples Assembly (OPA).
The Assembly, after Ajaero’s arrest on Monday, said the arrest was lawful and necessary for the stability of the country.
Joe Ajaero was arrested by the DSS at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport on Monday as he tried to board an aeroplane to the United Kingdom for a labour meeting.
The police had recently invited and interrogated Ajaero over allegations of terrorism financing, cybercrime, subversion, criminal conspiracy, and treasonable felony.
His invitation came in the wake of a night raid by the police on the NLC national secretariat in Abuja.
The police are alleging a link between the labour leader and a Briton, Andrew Wynne, who had been accused of financing the recent #EndBadGovernance or #Hunger protest in the country to allegedly overthrow the government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Following Ajaero’s first appearance on August 29, the police, in another letter signed by the Commissioner of Police, Operations, Ibitoye Alajide, on behalf of the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Force Intelligence Department, Abuja, asked him to appear again on Thursday, September 5, alongside the NLC General Secretary “to answer questions over alleged criminal intimidation, conducts likely to cause a breach of public peace, and malicious damage to property”.
Said OPA in a statement signed by Adeyemi Olamide Shola, its Deputy Speaker: “His arrest is not only justified but crucial to safeguarding the integrity of our nation”
The assembly described the NLC president as an alleged lawbreaker, insisting that his arrest would not cause anarchy.
OPA said that the NLCpPresident must have taken some actions that undermine national peace and security.
Said the body: “Much like other culprits already in detention, Ajaero must face the consequences of his actions.
“To suggest he should be spared implies that he is untouchable, and this is unacceptable. His arrest by the DSS is necessary, timely, and demonstrates that no one is beyond the reach of justice”.
The group urged the DSS to intensify its investigations and place under surveillance all suspected accomplices to what it described as undemocratic plot.
