Comrade Joe Ajaero, President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, is reportedly in critical condition and has been rushed to the Federal Medical Centre, Owerri, with his right eye swollen shut.
This incident, described by the NLC Head of Information and Publicity, Comrade Benson Upah, as an “attempted murder,” has sparked outrage and demands for justice.
Upah revealed that Ajaero was found at the Police Hospital in Owerri at around 15:30 hours, from where he was immediately transferred to the Federal Medical Centre for medical attention. During this time, it was observed that Ajaero had been “thoroughly brutalized,” and his right eye had been completely shut.
According to Upah, Ajaero recounted that after his arrest, he was subjected to beatings, blindfolded, and taken to an unknown location where he endured further brutality, sometimes with the use of bottles. His personal belongings, including his phones and money, were also confiscated and have yet to be returned.
A picture of Ajaero, shared by SaharaReporters, clearly shows the extent of his injuries, with his right eye severely affected.
Reacting to this horrifying situation, Omoyele Sowore, in a social media post, condemned the police’s actions as barbaric and called for action, stating, “This barbarism is unacceptable. @HopeUzodinma sent thugs to assault and possibly assassinate @NLCHeadquarters President Joe Ajaero. The @NLCHeadquarters ought to shut down the country until the Imo State Governor and his thugs are removed from office. #RevolutionNow.”
Earlier, the NLC had raised an alarm that its national president, Ajaero, had been abducted by Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, and the state Commissioner of Police.
In a statement signed by Comrade Emmanuel Ugboaja, General Secretary, and Comrade Nuhu Toro, TUC Secretary General, the NLC expressed its determination to stand firm and press for the rights and demands of workers, despite the violence perpetrated against them by the state government.
The statement issued by the NLC read, “The Government of Imo State has continued to use the instrument of violence and intimidation against trade unions and their leadership in the state.
“Just as Nigerian workers gathered earlier this morning led by the leadership of the two labor centers to demonstrate our outrage over the serial and habitual abuse and violation of the rights of workers in the state; the Government unleashed blood-curdling mayhem on the workers.
“Earlier in the morning, police attempted to disperse workers who were gathering at the state NLC secretariat without success. This was followed in the usual manner by thugs who were stationed very close to the Secretariat in several vehicles.
“These thugs later unleashed mayhem on the few workers who had already gathered, smashing car windscreens, delivering machete cuts to some, stabbing many, and inflicting all manners of injuries. GSM handsets were snatched, laptops taken away, and money was forcefully taken by the hoodlums.
“As if that damage was not enough, the President of the NLC; Comrade Joe Ajaero, arrived at the venue accompanied by a few individual workers to inspect the carnage and to provide the necessary leadership for the trade union action to continue, only to be met by police officers of the Imo State Police Command, who came in their numbers and in several vehicles.
“The police, accompanied by thugs led by the Special Assistant to the Governor of Imo State on Special Duties: Mr. Chinasa Nwaneri, leading others, descended on the President of the Congress after overpowering the few workers who were left after the initial battering.
“They inflicted heavy injuries and severe blows to his head and body, kicking him in the process while dragging him on the ground, with the police supervising the mayhem.
“They eventually bundled the President into their waiting van and whisked him away to an unknown destination where he is still being held incommunicado as we write. This latest action of the State Government and the Police further demonstrates our earlier cries to Nigerians on the level of violence and impunity going on in Imo State.
“If the President of the Congress can be abducted in broad daylight and taken to an unknown destination by the Police and the State Governor, imagine what they have been doing to workers and trade union leaders in the state!”
| Sahara Reporters
