The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has stated that its President, Joe Ajaero, was not invited by the Department of State Services (DSS) before his arrest.
NLC spokesman Benson Upah made this clarification in a statement on Wednesday, addressing reports circulating on various media platforms. These reports, attributed to “sources within the DSS,” claimed that Ajaero had been invited by the DSS before his arrest but did not respond to the invitation.
The statement read: “Our attention has been drawn to a story circulating across media platforms, citing ‘sources within the agency (DSS)’ claiming that Comrade Joe Ajaero, President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, was invited by the DSS before his arrest, but he failed to honour the invitation.”
The “sources” further suggested that this was the reason for Ajaero’s arrest at the airport while en route to the UK. The NLC clarified the events, explaining that in the days leading up to his arrest, Ajaero had been in communication with the Director General of the DSS during a courtesy visit.
A director within the DSS later contacted the NLC’s General Secretary to arrange a date for a follow-up visit. However, the General Secretary informed the director that he would not be available until Friday, September 13. The director assured him that they would give the NLC leadership at least 48 hours’ notice for the meeting.
Despite this, Ajaero was arrested on Monday at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja while on his way to the United Kingdom for an official assignment, according to the NLC.
See the full statement below:
DISREGARD THESE STORIES
Our attention has been drawn to a story (circulating in different media platforms) linked to “sources within the agency (DSS)” that preceding his arrest, Comrade Joe Ajaero, President of the Nigeria Labour Congress was invited by the DSS but that he did not honour the invitation.
The “sources” further added that it was reason for his arrest at the airport on his way to the UK.
We would like to set the records straight as follows: In the days preceding his arrest, Congress President had had a discussion with the DG DSS on a courtesy visit. A Director in the agency later called the General Secretary of the Congress on the need to fix a date for the courtesy visit. The General Secretary however explained to him that he would not be available until Friday (September 13). The said Director assured him they would give Congress leadership a notice of not less than 48 hours for the visit.
The DG DSS last spoke with Comrade Ajaero on Saturday night during which Ajaero told him he would be travelling the next day, Sunday, adding that the courtesy visit would be paid after his return on Friday, September 13.
The Congress President however missed his flight on Sunday and had it rescheduled to Monday, September 9th.
It was on that Monday morning he was picked up by the operatives of the DSS in a watch list operation on behalf of a sister agency.
We want to re-affirm that Joe Ajaero is a law-abiding citizen heading the biggest pan-Nigerian organisation with an illustrious history of patriotism and will certainly not snub the DSS. He is a trade unionist of international repute who serves on the executive boards of world federations of trade unions. His constituency goes beyond Nigeria.
It is not in his character to disregard invitations and precedents (his honouring the police invitation) attest to this.
Benson Upah
Head of Information and Public Affairs