FG announces arrest of suspected attackers of NLC President Ajaero, moves to end strike
By Emma Ogbuehi
In a move aimed at resolving the crisis leading to the current strike by affiliates of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) has announced arrest of some suspects linked to the attack of the NLC President, Joe Ajaero in Owerri, the Imo State capital, on November 1, 2023.
Labour embarked on nationwide strike on Tuesday to seek justice over an assault on Ajaero who was attacked when he was about to lead a protest against alleged anti-labour practices by the Governor Hope Uzodimma-led administration.
NLC had insisted on the arrest and trial of the suspects, particularly one Chinasa Nwaneri, an aide to Uzodimma, as one of the conditions to lift the strike.
In the wake of the incident and days to the November 11, 2023 governorship poll in Imo State, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, had redeployed Mohammed Barde, the then Commissioner of Police in the state under whose watch the incident happened, and ordered an investigation into the assault on the NLC leader.
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However, the President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Festus Osifo, said the unions have no confidence in the probe by the IGP and called on the NSA to lead the investigation.
“The office of the NSA should lead this investigation; it should not even be the Inspector General of Police because in this particular subject, we also feel that the IGP is compromised,” Osifo said on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme early Wednesday.
Reacting about two hours after Osifo spoke on our breakfast show, the NSA said his office is concerned over the matter.
In a statement signed by the Head of Strategic Communication in the NSA Office, Zakari Mijinyawa, Ribadu “regrets the incident” on Ajaero and “condemns it in its entirety as it was against the rule of law and the principles of freedom of association and expression subscribed to by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his administration”.
The NSA said the Federal Government will never condone such an act.
“As a fallout of the incident relevant authorities were directed to conduct thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the assault and bring to book the culprits. Available update indicates that some arrests have already been made in this regard. The outcome of the investigation will be made public as soon as it is concluded,” the statement partly read.
“The Federal Government, through the Office of the NSA, therefore appeals to the labour leadership to call off the current strike action and allow the dialogue process underway to be exhausted.”
The announcement did not however identify the suspects and where they were nabbed.
The development comes as the Federal Government invites leaders of the Organised Labour for a meeting this afternoon to end the ongoing nationwide strike. The meeting was summoned by the Office of the National Security Adviser.
Besides the attack on the NLC President, other labour leaders and journalists, there are other grievances that precipitated the strike.
They include outstanding salary arrears, unjust declaration of 11,000 workers as ghost employees, unsettled gratuities, and non-compliance with the N30,000 Minimum Wage Act. Also, labour said the state declared 10,000 pensioners as ghost retirees.
