Embattled President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Comrade Joe Ajaero has finally opened up about his ordeals in the hands of the Department of State Service.
Going by the kind of questions posed to her m during his arrest, he made it clear that it is obvious that they are desperately looking for evidence and information of what to pin on him at all cost.
Recall that the President of Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Joe Ajaero, was arrested at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport on his way to attending a labour conference in the United Kingdom few days, and was released after about fifteen (15) hours of grilling and questioning.
First he made it known that his arrest by the DSS was an instruction from the Intelligence Response Team, IRT, department of the Nigeria police, revealing that the same IRT that he honoured their invitation on August 29, equally came to interrogate him and took his statement while he was detained at the DSS.
“The DSS also interrogated me and took my statement. I do not know why they have to embarrass me publicly like that.
“The same IRT operatives in whose office we were on August 29, 2024, alongside Mr Femi Falana, came and asked the same questions I was asked in the previous meeting with them,” he revealed to Daily Post.
Further, he said he was also questioned about the operator of the Ivan Valley Bookshop located on the second floor of the NLC secretariat. Though he did not go further to reveal what the offense of the operator of the said Bookshop had committed.
“They asked about the operator of the Iva Valley Bookshop on the second floor of NLC secretariat building.
“They asked me whether we had communicated on the phone, whether he (the Iva Valley operator) communicated with me in writing and so on“.
He also talked about how he was questioned about the recently concluded nationwide hunger and end bad Governance demonstration, if he knew those involved in the said demonstration.
He was equally questioned about a certain staff of the National Union of Electricity Employees identified as Eleojo Opaluwa.
‘’They also asked if I knew the protesters (#EndBadGovernance or #Endhunger), especially Eleojo Opaluwa, a staff of the National Union of Electricity Employees, NUEE. I told them I knew him because I employed him at NUEE“.
He was equally asked about the running of Labour Party, if it is the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, that is running the party, of which the former Governor of Anambra state, Mr. Peter Obi is the national leader and the party’s presidential candidate during the 2023 presidential election.
“They equally asked about the Labour Party, LP, whether we are running the party. I told them we do not run the Labour Party, but that we are a trustee of the party“.
“I also told them that the Labour Party they see today was founded when Adams Oshiomhole was President of NLC“.
“Also, they asked about the issue of Air Peace which we had settled since last year.”
Then he reiterated the fact that the security agents are on a mission of laying hands on evidence at all cost just to nail him and possibly the NLC.
“It is like the security agents are searching for evidence on how and what to nail us with. That is why they have continued to embarrass, persecute, intimidate and do whatever they liked to cow us,” he narrated.
During his arrest and detention his international passport and personal phones were equally seized by the DSS. But these items were released to him on Tuesday September 10 and Joe Ajaero has equally confirmed the return of these items to him.
Meanwhile, it was on the same day that Joe Ajaero was arrested by the DSS that the same DSS raided the secretariat of SERAP.
