Joe Ajaero, President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), was interrogated by the Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT) over allegations of criminal conspiracy, terrorism financing, treasonable felony, subversion, and cybercrime.
Sources who spoke with VANGUARD have revealed that the questioning took place at the Police headquarters on August 20, following an invitation issued on August 19.
The meeting was attended by human rights activists, including Femi Falana, SAN, Maxwell Opara, Deji Adeyanju, and the leader of the IRT, DCP Sanusi Mohammed. Operatives from the Department of State Services (DSS) and the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) were also present.
During the interrogation, which lasted less than 30 minutes, the discussion mainly focused on an individual operating the Iva Valley Bookshop located on the second floor of the Labour House.
Ajaero clarified that the bookshop operator was merely a tenant of the NLC and had no other connection to the union. He emphasized that there were no consultations, phone calls, or written communications between the suspect and the NLC.
According to sources, Ajaero expressed frustration at the way the interrogation was conducted, as his official position as NLC President was not appropriately acknowledged.
“At some point, Comrade Ajaro was almost infuriated because they (interrogators) were just calling Joseph Ajaero without reference to his official position as NLC President.
‘’In a normal situation, the Police ought to have just called the NLC president for the invitation and not write him.
“They failed to do so because of their sinister motives. In all, it was like a friendly chat that did not last up to 30 minutes,’’ the source said.
After the session, Ajaero addresse journalists, describing the interrogation as a distraction and the allegations as baseless.
He said: “Comrades, I want to thank every one of you in various state commands who have been praying since the last four days and can now break their fast.
“Comrades, the labour movement is worth dying for because of its patriotism and commitment. Labour movement is one of the biggest pan-Nigerian organizations. Our patriotism from the days of colonial government till even the period of the military was unshakable.
“We are more patriotic than any other institution you can think of in this country and we are going to continue to be that.
“We have gone there (Force Headquartres) and we are back. I just want to confirm to you that as a citizen, I have gone there and we are back here. You can’t do this job (trade unionism) we are doing without this type of hazard, it is expected.
“This is the highlight of the job. Even at the unit level, some of us experienced this. As far back as 1997, 1998 I was telling Falana, we were equally together in the cell enjoying ourselves during the time of Abacha.
“Comrades what is important is the circumstances that took us to that place. But whatever the case is, we are out to continue the struggle. We have got minimum wage but it has not been implemented. So we have to press for its implementation as soon as possible.’’
