The Department of State Services (DSS) has released Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President Joe Ajaero on bail. Ajaero was arrested at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja on Monday morning while on his way to the United Kingdom for an official assignment.
The NLC had demanded Ajaero’s immediate release, threatening a nationwide strike if he was not freed by 12 midnight on Monday. The congress described Ajaero’s detention as “brazen and illegal” and an “affront to the rights of workers and democratic principles.”
The DSS invasion of SERAP’s office and the arrest of Ajaero have been widely condemned by various organizations, including the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Social Democratic Party (SDP), and human rights groups like Amnesty International (AI).
AI described Ajaero’s arrest as “unlawful” and called for his immediate and unconditional release. The organization also condemned the invasion of SERAP’s office by DSS operatives, stating that it was a “troubling new standard for impunity.”
The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, criticized President Tinubu’s administration for its “draconian policies” and called for caution, stating that Nigeria has now entered a full-blown dictatorship.
The NNPP National Publicity Secretary, Ladipo Johnson, described Ajaero’s arrest as “shocking” and urged the Tinubu administration to explain why the Labour leader was whisked away.
The SDP national chairman, Shehu Gabam, warned that the nation was descending into gangsterism and cautioned the government to be extremely careful not to provoke the system further.
However, the National Publicity Director of the ruling APC, Bala Ibrahim, called for restraint and insisted that the DSS could not have gone after the NLC president without a reason.