The ultimatum comes in reaction to the attack on NLC President Joe Ajaero that occurred on Thursday in the capital city of Imo, Owerri.
A five-day deadline has been set by the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) for the redeployment of the Imo State Commissioner of Police.
The ultimatum comes in reaction to the attack on NLC President Joe Ajaero that occurred on Thursday in the capital city of Imo, Owerri.
This request was made by Organised Labour during a press conference on Friday in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory.
In addition, they threatened to launch a national strike if their demands were not met. Hope Uzodimma, the governor of Imo State’s special adviser, was to be arrested and prosecuted on special duties.
The Imo State administration and the police are being held accountable by the union leaders for the attack on the NLC chairman.
However, in their respective comments on Friday, the state administration and the police both refuted every accusation made against them.
During a protest by Imo State workers on Wednesday against what they claimed to be a “serial and habitual abuse and violation” of their rights by the state government, Ajaero was taken into custody in Owerri, the state capital.
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The NLC claimed that Ajeoro was abused after his detention, despite the police saying that he was placed in custody for his protection.
The governor of Imo State, Hope Uzodimma, addressed the matter at the State House in Abuja on Thursday. He refuted the accusation that he planned an attack on Ajaero, claiming that his intervention was necessary to get the NLC leaders in his state, who had been suspended and replaced by a caretaker committee, back on their feet.
Imo State native Ajaero was charged by Uzodimma with getting involved in local politics.
Some Nigerians have denounced the attack on the labour leader, including Femi Falana, a human rights lawyer, and Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 elections.
Obi claims that the attack on Ajaero reveals a great deal about the current situation in our nation.
Falana questioned the police narrative surrounding Ajaero’s detention and requested that Inspector General of Police Kayode Egbetokun look into the matter and see to it that the officers who assaulted Ajaero were prosecuted.
The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), which also reacted, characterised the attack on Ajareo as an existential threat to the Nigerian trade union movement in a statement on Friday.
In addition, PENGASSAN called the labour leader’s attack an outright violation of her human rights and an attack on the values of democracy, free speech, and association.
