Joe Ajaero, president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), has been released by the Department of State Services on administrative bail.
He was released at 11.10pm on Monday, according to one of the officials of the NLC quoted by Vanguard.
Ajaero was arrested by the DSS on his way to the United Kingdom on Monday for an official assignment. It was not clear why he was arrested.
The NLC had threatened to embark on nationwide protest if he was not released by midnight of Monday.
The Department of State Services has granted administrative bail to the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Joe Ajaero.
He was released a few minutes before the 12midnight ultimatum issued by the organised labour.
Pro-democracy activist and presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, Omoyele Sowore, announced his release in a tweet on Monday night.
“BREAKING: The fascist regime of @officialABAT has released the @NLCHeadquarters President Joe Ajaero from @OfficialDSSNG custody on bail,” he wrote on X.com.
The Peoples Democratic Party, New Nigeria Peoples Party and Social Democratic Party on Monday criticised President Bola Tinubu’s administration following the arrest of Joe Ajaero, the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, and the raid on the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project’s Abuja office by the Department of State Services.
Ajaero was arrested on Monday morning at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on his way to the United Kingdom for an official assignment.
The NLC president was billed to attend the Trade Union Congress conference in London, which begins today.
Also, the DSS raided the Abuja office of SERAP in Abuja.
Reports indicate that the officers were seeking to speak with the directors of the rights group.
WHY AJAERO WAS ARRESTED
However, a source, who requested anonymity due to not being authorized to speak on the matter, informed our correspondent that Ajaero was arrested for not responding to the service’s invitation.
The source said, “An invitation was sent to him last week following a petition against him. The petition borders on national security and his presence was required to clear the air on the allegations against him. A senior officer handling the matter called him on his telephone line and he promised to show up but failed to.
“No responsible security organisation will fold its hands in the face of such contempt. The law setting up the DSS empowers us to defend Nigeria against domestic threats, to uphold and enforce the criminal laws of Nigeria, and to provide leadership and criminal justice services to federal and state law-enforcement organs.”
Reacting, Falana challenged the DSS to provide evidence against the labour leader.
Falana said, “Let the DSS provide details of the petition. If they say it is a matter of national security then let them give you a copy of that petition. It is very simple.”
