NLC Demands Immediate Release of Joe Ajaero from Detention

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has issued a strong condemnation of the arrest and detention of its President, Joe Ajaero, by the Nigerian government, demanding his immediate and unconditional release.

Ajaero was detained at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja while en route to the United Kingdom for a Trade Union Congress meeting.

In a statement released Monday evening, Deputy President Adeyanju Adewale described the detention as “brazen and illegal,” and an affront to workers’ rights and democratic principles. The NLC has given the government a deadline of midnight to release Ajaero and has also called for a reversal of the recent petrol price hike to N617 per litre.

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The NLC has alerted its affiliates, state councils, and civil society partners, emphasizing its commitment to opposing any violation of workers’ rights. An emergency meeting of the National Executive Council has been convened to plan further actions against what the NLC describes as government “authoritarianism and lawlessness.”

The NLC reaffirms its dedication to defending workers’ rights and addressing oppression, urging the government to correct what it considers a “dangerous trend” and to implement the new National Minimum Wage.

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The statement concluded, “The NLC demands the immediate and unconditional release of Comrade Joe Ajaero before midnight today. The council condemns his detention by the Nigerian state as illegal and unjustified.”

Further updates will be provided as the situation unfolds.