President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, was last night released on bail, several hours after he was arrested by operatives of the Department of State Service (DSS).
Ajaero was arrested on Monday morning at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja while he was on his was to London, United Kingdom for a conference on the invitation of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) of Britain.
While no official statement has been issued by the secret police concerning his arrest, his lawyer, Femi Falana, had said the arrest of Ajaero is not connected to his recent invitation by the Nigeria Police.
However, the commercial airline Air Peace revealed yesterday that Ajaero's arrest may be linked to a petition they filed against him with the police last year.
The airline, through its sokesman, Omotade Makinwa, said in a statement that the police may have chosen to take action on the petition despite withdrawing it.
He said in the statement: “We express deep concern over recent media reports regarding the arrest of NLC President in connection to a petition filed by the airline in September 2023.
“This development, which has led to negative publicity, does not reflect the current relationship between Air Peace and the NLC.
“It is important to clarify the events leading up to the petition. On the 3rd of May, 2023, the NLC disrupted Air Peace operations as part of a broader conflict with the Imo State government.
“Although Air Peace had no involvement in the dispute between the NLC and the Imo State government, our airline was unfortunately used as a tool to exert pressure on the government.
“This unlawful disruption of our services caused significant financial losses and impacted the travel plans of many Nigerians across multiple states.
“In response to this disruption, Air Peace’s legal team submitted a formal petition against the NLC to the Nigerian Police.
“Despite our repeated efforts to follow up on the petition, the Police failed to take prompt action.
“However, over a year later, the Nigeria Police have chosen to act on the original petition, which has now led to the alleged arrest of the NLC president.
“Prior to this arrest, the airline and the NLC had already reached an amicable resolution, and Air Peace had withdrawn its petition, allowing a positive working relationship to resume between the two organisations.”
