Akinwande Soji-Ojo
The presidency has reacted to a comment made by the United Kingdom (UK) Trade Union Congress (TUC) over the arrest of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President, Joe Ajaero.
Ajaero was arrested at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja by operatives of Department of State Services (DSS) while he was about to board a flight to the UK.
After the labour leader’s arrest, NLC alerted all its affiliates, state councils, and Nigerian workers and demanded his “unconditional release” before 12 midnight. The DSS later released Ajaero in the early hours of Tuesday.
Meanwhile, a video clip in which a leader of the UK TUC condemned the Nigerian government for Ajaero’s arrest was posted on NLC X account on Tuesday.
The union leader spoke during the TUC 2024 congress in the UK.
Reacting to the video in a statement on Tuesday night, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said Ajaero is not above the law in Nigeria.
He dismissed allegations that agents of government violated the rights of Ajaero.
Onanuga added that the NLC president was arrested by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) because he refused to honour an invitation of a law enforcement agency carrying out an investigation.
He said Ajaero should have honoured the police invitation, noting that “there is no adversarial relationship between the labour movement in Nigeria and the government”.
“The Trade Union Congress in the United Kingdom opened its conference today in London, with its leader making false claims about human rights abuses and violations in Nigeria.
“The Nigerian government was wrongly and falsely accused of rights abuse because the NLC President, Joe Ajaero, was stopped from travelling abroad after he snubbed the invitation of a law enforcement agency conducting an ongoing investigation.
“Clearly, under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (As Amended), no person is above the summons of law enforcement agencies and lawful investigation.
“Like the United Kingdom and other civilised nations, Nigeria is a country of law governed by the constitution.
“We are not aware that there is anyone in the United Kingdom or anywhere in Europe and the United States, trade union leaders inclusive, who will flagrantly ignore the invitation or summons of MI5 or Scotland Yard or treat the FBI with the level of disdain Mr. Ajaero has subjected law enforcement agencies in Nigeria.
“We, therefore, reject any notion and allusion to human rights violations in Nigeria. The accusations made by the Trade Union Congress in the United Kingdom are, thus, unfounded and based on a misunderstanding of the situation.
“While labour unions and the government may not always agree on policy direction, the government has consistently shown readiness to engage on any issue with labour despite the latter’s political partisanship.
“Contrary to the erroneous impression being created, the invitation extended by the Department of State Services to Mr. Ajaero has nothing to do with his role as the President of NLC,” he said.
