The Department of State Services (DSS) has released Joe Ajaero, President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), after detaining him for approximately 15 hours.
Ajaero, who was arrested early Monday morning at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, was allowed to go home around 11 p.m. that night, though his travel passport was seized.
Confirming his release, Ajaero stated, “The secret police allowed me to go home around 11 pm on Monday.”
Ajaero’s detention was linked to ongoing investigations concerning the #EndBadGovernance protests that occurred in August and allegations of terrorism financing involving British national Andrew Wynne.
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He was reportedly en route to the United Kingdom for a Trade Union Congress (TUC) event when he was apprehended.
Ajaero disclosed, “They asked me about the protest and also about the alleged involvement of a British national, Andrew Wynne, in terrorism financing.”
The NLC, in response to his arrest, expressed strong condemnation and demanded his immediate release by Tuesday midnight, instructing affiliates, state councils, and civil society allies to be on high alert due to “this troubling development.”
Global rights organizations like Amnesty International, human rights activist Femi Falana, and the TUC also weighed in, denouncing the arrest and calling for Ajaero’s unconditional release.
Ajaero had previously complied with a police invitation in late August concerning terrorism financing accusations, firmly maintaining his innocence.
One of his legal representatives, Maxwell Opara, revealed that Ajaero had already informed the DSS about his trip to the UK and had committed to meeting them upon his return.
Opara stated, “They (DSS) invited him on the phone. He told them that he was engaged with the World Trade Union Congress. He had committed to meeting with the DSS on Monday when he returns from the UK.”
Despite this, a senior DSS official explained that Ajaero’s arrest resulted from his failure to honor an earlier invitation related to a petition filed against him by top NLC leaders, concerning matters of national security.
The official elaborated, “An invitation was sent to him last week concerning a petition filed by top NLC leaders against him, and based on this, we have to invite him since the issues raised in the petition bothered on national security.”
The official further noted, “Our new director-general, Mr. Oluwatosin Ajayi, insisted that we first invite the NLC president to clear the air on some of the allegations, but he did not honor the invitation.”
In addition to Ajaero’s arrest, the DSS was reported to have laid siege to the office of the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) in Abuja, following its calls for the government to reverse the recent hike in petrol prices.
SERAP later urged President Bola Tinubu to direct the DSS to cease its actions against the organization.
