In a report from Vanguard, Joe Ajaero, the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), recently shared details about his troubling experience with security agents after being arrested.
On Monday, the Department of State Services (DSS) detained Ajaero at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja for over 16 hours. During this time, they took his phones and international passport.
Ajaero confirmed yesterday that he has received his belongings back, stating, “Yes, it is true. My phones and passport have been returned to me by the DSS.”
He called the experience of being detained by the DSS and the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) humiliating. During his interrogation, he was questioned about various topics, including the Iva Valley Bookshop, his communications with protesters, and his connections to the Labour Party. Ajaero felt that the security agents were looking for ways to discredit him and the Labour Party, which resulted in ongoing harassment and intimidation against them.
Ajaero said, ‘’They also asked if I know the protesters (#EndBadGovernance or #Endhunger), especially Eleojo Opaluwa, a staff of the National Union of Electricity Employees, NUEE. I told them I knew him because I employed him at NUEE. They equally asked about the Labour Party, LP, whether we are running the party. I told them we do not run Labour Party, but that we are a trustee of the party.”….S££ _ MOR£