The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has raised serious allegations against the police, claiming that its President, Joe Ajaero, was subjected to physical assault while in custody in Imo State.
According to NLC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Benson Upah, Ajaero’s belongings were confiscated, and he has yet to regain possession of them.
He said,
“Contact was made with Congress President, Comrade Joe Ajaero this evening around 1530 hours at the Police Hospital in Owerri from where he was taken to Federal Medical Centre, Owerri where he is receiving medical attention.”
The police had initially stated that Ajaero was detained for his own protection. However, the NLC has vehemently contested this, asserting that he was mistreated during his apprehension.
“Thoroughly brutalised, his (Ajeoro’s) right eye at the time of contact was completely shut,” Ujah said.
“Ajaero who said little stated that immediately after his arrest, he was beaten up and blindfolded and taken to an unknown destination where more brutalisation took place, sometimes with bottles.”
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The incident occurred as Ajaero was participating in the NLC’s statewide protest and strike, addressing issues such as unpaid salaries, pensions, and a perceived lack of regard for workers’ rights.
Following the NLC’s accusations, the Imo State Police Command issued a statement justifying their actions, emphasizing that Mr Ajaero’s detainment was solely for his safety.
A statement by the spokesperson of the Command, ASP Okoye Henry, 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.”
The police spokesperson further clarified that the NLC had been prohibited from holding the scheduled rally by a National Industrial Court injunction issued on October 27, 2023.
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Contrarily, the NLC maintains its stance, alleging that Mr Ajaero suffered mistreatment subsequent to his detention, not prior to it.
In the midst of these conflicting narratives, the Imo State Government has distanced itself from the arrest. In a statement, Declan Emelumba, the Imo State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, dismissed accusations against the government, labeling those making such claims as “perennial mischief makers always crying wolf where there is none.”
Emelumba reiterated that the planned strike in the state had already been halted by the National Industrial Court in Owerri, emphasizing the illegitimacy of the intended action.
The commissioner stated that due to the injunction, the Imo State division of the NLC declared its withdrawal from the strike.
Alleging that Mr Ajaero had disregarded a court directive, he asserted,
“information at the disposal of government indicated that there might have been a fiasco between lawful workers of Imo State and lawless invaders from Abuja, which led to police intervention to maintain the peace.”