Prominent pro-democracy and civil rights advocacy group, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), has condemned the arbitrary and illegal arrest and detention of the President of the Nigerian Labour Congress Comrade Joe Ajaero by the security forces just as the Rights group has told the President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu that trade unionism, human rights activism and journalism are not in any way criminal but are rather integral stakeholders that sustain constitutional democracy. HURIWA is asking the current administration to play the game of governance by the rules and the GRUND NORM and to end the regime of arbitrariness, illegal detentions and unconstitutional harassment of media practices, rights activists and trade union figures such as the President of the Nigerian Labour Congress Comrade Joe Ajaero by armed goons who are directly under the command and control of the President and the Commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The president of Nigeria elected under the 1999 constitution must know that Nigeria is a constitutional democracy, and his office is not the same as the tyranny that plays out in China which recently hosted the Nigerian and African Presidents. Rather under the Nigerian Constitution the people are the owners of the Sovereignty of Nigeria whereas the elected politicians are only exercising power legitimately through the donations of legitimacy made to them by the people of Nigeria through a democratic election for specified tenure.

HURIWA further asked the leaders of the respectable and powerful international community such as the President of the United States of America Mr. Joe Biden, the Prime Minister of Britain Mr. Keir Starmer, the PM of Canada Mr. Justin Trudeau and the Secretary General of the United Nations Mr. Antonio Guiterres to intervene in the rapidly deteriorating democratic standards in Nigetia under president Bola Ahmed Tinubu and to stop him from destroying democratic freedoms in his attempt to establish dictatorship and tyranny in Nigeria which violates the sanctity of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria of 1999 as amended which the current administration swore to uphold.

In a media statement by the National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, HURIWA stated that the action of the security forces to constantly harass and arrest key human rights, media and trade union figures and particularly the constant tormenting through the instrumentality of the state armed security operatives of the President of the Nigerian Labour Congress Comrade Joe Ajaero only because his leadership of the Foremost central Labour platform in the country refused to be pocketed by the All Progressives Congress led federal administration which has constantly introduced toxic and deadly economic austerity measures that have unleashed mass hunger, poor salaries for the public workforce, mass unemployment, uncontrollable inflation amidst high rate of official corruption by government officials, is totally unacceptable and condemnable.

“We are by this statement calling for the immediate cessation of all kinds of coordinated attacks targeting the NLC, human rights campaigners and media practitioners by this administration so as to protect and preserve constitutional principles in Nigeria”.

HURIWA recalled that the operatives of the Department of the State Services had arrested the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Joe Ajaero.

HURIWA recalled that Comrade Ajaero was arrested on Monday morning at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on his way to the United Kingdom for an official assignment.

The NLC president was billed to attend the Trade Union Congress conference in London, which begins today.

Confirming the development in a post via its official X handle, the NLC said Ajaero’s arrest is an assault on Nigerian workers.

HURIWA quoted the NLC as stating thus: “The assault on Nigerian workers continues. President of the NLC, Joe Ajaero, was arrested and abducted by men of the DSS at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, this morning on his way to attend an official engagement of TUC United Kingdom, and he is now detained at the office of the NSA.

“This intimidation and assault must stop!!!”

Recall that the Nigeria Police Force had invited and interrogated Ajaero over allegations of terrorism financing, cybercrime, subversion, criminal conspiracy, and treasonable felony.

His Invitation came in the wake of a night raid by the police on the NLC national secretariat in Abuja.

The police are alleging a link between the labour leader and a Briton, Andrew Wynne, who has been accused of financing the recent #EndBadGovernance or #Hunger protest in the country to allegedly overthrow the government of President Bola Tinubu.

Following Ajaero’s first appearance on August 29, the police, in another letter signed by the Commissioner of Police, Operations, Ibitoye Alajide, on behalf of the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Force Intelligence Department, Abuja, asked him to appear again on Thursday, September 5, alongside with the NLC General Secretary “to answer questions over alleged criminal intimidation, conducts likely to cause a breach of public peace, and malicious damage to property.”

The letter read: “In furtherance of investigations into the alleged case of criminal intimidation, conducts likely to cause breach of public peace and malicious damage to properties in which your name featured, you are requested to come along with Comrade Emmanuel Ugboaja for an interview with the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Force Intelligence Department, FID, through the undersigned, at SPO’s Room 112, 2nd Floor, Force Intelligence Department (FID) Complex, Shehu Shagari Way, opposite Force Headquarters Area 11, Garki, Abuja on Thursday, 5th September 2024 at 11 am.”

HURIWA has also called on credible civil society organizations and activists to rally round the leadership of the NLC to confront these coordinated, trumped-up charges framed by the police and the security forces against the President of the NLC only because he is a principled defender of the constitutional rights of the working class. The President of Nigeria should be told in clear terms that HUMAN RIGHTS AND TRADE UNION ACTIVISM is not a crime. Stop these harassment and intimidation now.

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