Following Comrade Joe Ajaero, the President of the Nigeria labour Congress (NLC), being arrested by the police in the capital city of Owerri, Imo State, organised labour has reacted, threatening a nationwide protest.
In the meantime, Ajaero was contacted and, according to Benson Upah, Head of Information for the NLC, he was severely abused.
“This evening at approximately 5:30 PM, at the Owerri Police Hospital, contact was established with Congress President, Comrade Joe Ajaero. From there, he was transported to the Federal Medical Centre, Owerri, where he is presently receiving medical attention.
““The Imo State Government has continued to use the instrument of violence and intimidation against trade unions and their leadership in the state,” the complete statement stated. The government unleashed blood-curdling mayhem on the workers just as Nigerian labourers had assembled earlier this morning, headed by the leadership of the two labour centres, to express our fury over the state’s ongoing abuse and violation of workers’ rights. Police had attempted, unsuccessfully, earlier in the morning to scatter employees assembling at the state NLC secretariat.
The expected response from thugs stationed near the Secretariat in many Hilux and Toyota pickups was to follow. Later, these thugs would wreak havoc on the few workers who had managed to gather, smashing car windscreens, stabbing numerous people, and inflicting matchet cuts on some of the workers.
The thugs forcibly took money, laptops, and GSM phones. As if the damage wasn’t enough, Imo State Police Command officers showed up in large numbers and multiple trucks when NLC President Comrade Joe Ajaero and a few lone labourers arrived at the scene to survey the carnage and offer the necessary leadership for the trade union action to continue.
The President of the Congress was attacked by the police in the customary manner, along with thugs led by the Special Assistant to the Governor of Imo State on Special Duties: Mr. Chinasa Nwaneri, along with others like Tapey and Madoka, overpowered the few remaining workers after the initial beating, severely beating and striking his head and body, kicking him in the process, and dragging him on the ground while the police watched on.
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After a while, they loaded the President into their waiting van and drove him to the location where, as of this writing, he remains detained without access to communication. Our earlier warnings to Nigerians about the amount of violence and impunity occurring in Imo State are further demonstrated by the State Government’s and the Police’s most recent actions. Imagine what the state’s police and governor have been doing to labourers and trade union leaders if they can kidnap the president of Congress in broad daylight and transport him to an unidentified location! This is absurd and should not be tolerated in civilised societies.
“Unfortunately, the state’s use of violence, particularly against labour union leaders, against defenceless civilians has become the standard. If people are let to get away with such violence and bloodletting, it is a new normal that could have severe consequences for our country. All we have asked of the governor is that he uphold the agreements that have been made between us and that he respect the rights of public employees.
“Workers should be paid what they are paid, and if you have a tendency of undervaluing your employees, you deprive them of their humanity and instability in their lives. Hope has been requested to do a number of things, but he has refused to comply because he thinks that violence and intimidation should be used against both the public and the workers.
According to the statement, “We call on Nigerian workers, wherever they may be, in the respective industrial Unions, state Councils, and branches to be on alert for an immediate nationwide action if the President of the Congress is not released by the end of today.” Our President’s imprisonment in a gulag prevents us from working, and the continued mistreatment of workers by the Imo State government makes it impossible for us to live in peace.
“With this declaration, we wish to inform the Nigerian Government that we demand the immediate release of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) President. He needs his freedom to lead Nigerian workers in a nonviolent protest secured, and the injuries inflicted upon him must be treated immediately.
As we move on with the meetings of the various organs to make choices about what has to be done next, this is what we demand.
“The Imo State Governor and the Police Commissioner must be held accountable for everything that occurs in the nation if this is not taken seriously right away. Nigeria is a law-abiding nation, and as leaders, we especially need to understand how to operate within its bounds.
To prevent more injuries to innocent workers in Imo State as well as loss of life and property, the state’s IGP has to mobilise his operatives. Imo State workers must be free, and we must all work together to make this happen.
The message concluded, “I hope the President and the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces bring Hope Uzodimma to order to stop his plan to transform the state into a haven for thugs and bloodsuckers. As trade unions, we will not stop until the government pays attention to what the workers want.
The governor shouldn’t be led to believe that the violence of today would weaken our drive to protect Imo State’s labour force. It has motivated us to get more organised so we can work with him more productively and creatively right away. We demand once more that the President of Congress be released by the Police right now.
