Opara-Ndudu called on Mezie-Dozie Owerri, Ezuruezu Mbaise, Olu Okigwe, Orluzurumee and all people of goodwill to condemn the ill-treatment of Ajaero.
By Jeffrey Agbo
Former Imo governorship aspirant, Nick Opara-Ndudu, has condemned the attack on the national president of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Joe Ajaero, after his arrest by security operatives in Imo on Wednesday.
Ajaero was about to lead Imo workers on a protest over alleged disrespect for workers’ rights by the state government when security operatives stormed the NLC secretariat and took him away. He re-surfaced with a bruised and swollen face.
In a statement made available to TheNiche on Thursday, Mr Opara-Ndudu called on Mezie-Dozie Owerri, Ezuruezu Mbaise, Olu Okigwe, Orluzurumee and all people of goodwill to condemn the ill-treatment of Ajaero.
He said, “Yesterday our brother and compatriot, Comrade Joe Ajaero, was beaten up by security agents while discharging his duties as the National President of the Nigeria Labour Congress. Photographs making the rounds in the social media show that he was manhandled by the agents of the state and from his own account the severity of the physical assault could have resulted in his death. God forbid!
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“Whatever Joe Ajaero did, it was well within the powers of the security agencies to arrest and prosecute him for any identified wrongdoing. But to resort to the physical abuse of his person is unconscionable and totally unacceptable.
“Mezie-Dozie Owerri, Ezuruezu Mbaise, Olu Okigwe, Orluzurumee and, indeed, all men of goodwill must rise up in condemnation of this barbaric act just as we await the reaction of the Imo Council of Elders.
“As a citizen of Imo State, I find it totally absurd and unacceptable that our state would continue to be in the news for the wrong reasons. Joe Ajaero has led protests in the past even against the federal government but his actions and those of his comrades have been handled by the federal government with utmost civility and decorum to the admiration of most Nigerians. It is, therefore, imperative in the current situation that those involved in this despicable act are brought to account. The resort to jungle justice and descent to anarchy in Imo State must be condemned by all men and women of goodwill.”