The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, recounted a harrowing experience of being brutally attacked in Imo State, alleging that police operatives deliberately handed him over to suspected thugs for a merciless beating.
Addressing a world press conference in Abuja, Ajaero, his eyes swollen and shielded by dark shades, described the assault as beyond imagination. This comment comes merely 24 hours before the governorship election in Imo State.
“I can’t explain the beating I received. They tied my hands and dragged me on the floor like a common criminal. I am not even a card-carrying member of any political party as alleged,” he stated.
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Contrary to the Imo State Police Command’s earlier statement claiming Ajaero was taken into protective custody to prevent a mob attack, the NLC President insisted that he had notified all security agencies about the planned protest well in advance.
The conflicting accounts give rise to apprehensions regarding the role of security forces, especially since the Imo State Police Command stated that the NLC President was placed in protective custody to shield him from a potential mob attack. This information was conveyed through an official statement posted on the Nigerian Police’s X handle, as disclosed by Imo Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Okoye Henry.
It read,
“The Imo State Police Command wishes to clarify some sketchy reports alleging the arrest of the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Comrade Joe Ajaero, in Owerri.
“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 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.”
