The Department of the State Services (DSS) has arrested the Nigeria Labour Congress President, Joe Ajaero.
The labour leader was arrested on Monday morning at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.
Ajaero was about to board a flight to the United Kingdom for an official assignment when he was arrested the secret police.
According to sources who spoke to the newspaper, Ajaero has been handed over to the National Intelligence Agency (NIA).
Ajaero was reportedly on his way to attend the conference of Trade Union Congress (TUC) in the UK.
He had asked that the police invitation asking him and the NLC General Secretary, Emmanuel Ugboaja, to come for questioning should be rescheduled.
He asked that the invitation should be moved from September 5, 2024 to September 25, 2024.
Counsel for the NLC, Mr Femi Falana (SAN), who accompanied Ajaero to the police headquarters for his first appearance on August 29, had disclosed that the labour leaders might seek a postponement of the interrogation.
Speaking further on the matter on Thursday, Falana said, “We wrote for another date as Comrade Joe Ajaero has an engagement outside Abuja today.”
The police had invited quizzing Ajaero and Ugboaja over allegations of terrorism financing, cybercrime, subversion, criminal conspiracy, and treasonable felony.
SaharaReporters earlier reported that the questions asked from the labour leader by the Intelligence Response Team of the police force were brief.
Maxwell Opara, Deputy Lead Counsel for the Nigeria Labour Congress President, noted that upon their arrival at the facility, the police stated that the invitation’s purpose was to ask questions about a tenant occupying a shop within the Labour Secretariat.
He said the meeting was brief and the police did not mention anything relating to the terrorism financing, treasonable felony, subversion, cybercrime and criminal conspiracy as contained in the invitation letter dated August 19, 2024, which was sent to Ajaero.
Maxwell said, “We went to honour the invitation of our client and they said they just want to ask him a few questions in respect to the tenant that is here. That doesn’t mean that we are going to relent because we don’t know what is going to come up next.
“We are using this medium to call for the release of all those protesters that were arrested during #EndBadGovernance protests. It is either they release them or take them to court. They have been there for more than what is requested by law.”
