The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has forcefully rejected the allegations leveled against its National President, Joe Ajaero, by the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), tagging it a deliberate act of “plain mischief.”
The Nigerian Police had earlier accused Ajaero of involvement in terrorism financing, treasonable felony, cybercrime, and other related offenses, claims that the NLC has vehemently denied as baseless and malicious.
The accusations came to light through a letter dated August 19, 2024, signed by Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Adamu Muazu on behalf of the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Intelligence Response Team.
The letter summoned Ajaero for questioning and issued a stern warning that a warrant of arrest would be issued if he failed to appear for interrogation on Tuesday.
Speaking in an interview with ARISE NEWS on Tuesday, Benson Upah, the head of the NLC’s information department, condemned the charges which he noted was aimed at discrediting the Labour movement.
“They talked about conspiracy, treasonable felony, terrorism financing, and cybercrime. I want to assure you with every sense of honour that we have nothing to do with those crimes,” Upah stated.
Upah emphasised that the NLC’s focus has always been on the integrity, sovereignty, and welfare of the Nigerian people, rather than engaging in criminal activities.
“For most of them securing Nigeria, it is about salary and wages, but for us at the Labour movement, our driving motive has always been the integrity, sovereignty of this country, and the welfare of the people. The state has awesome powers. When a state wants to keep you busy, they throw these kinds of charges, but they have picked on the wrong customer. We don’t even have enough money to meet our needs. We will now engage in terrorism financing. It is plain mischief,” he said.
Upah further criticised the actions of the police, referencing a raid on the NLC headquarters on Monday. According to him, the raid occurred shortly after the NLC had issued a communiqué expressing dissatisfaction with the police’s handling of protesters.
“On that fateful day, we had issued a communiqué in which we had expressed our dissatisfaction in the manner the police conducted themselves in managing the protesters, among other issues. We left, and then between 8:30-9:00, we received a report that the police had entered the premises. We were on the tenth floor; they had moved into the second floor and broken a bookshelf on that floor.
“We demanded an apology and a return of those items. Then they said that they were looking for a terrorist. We asked why they did not inform the congress head about such, we also told them that they did not have the appropriate papers,” Upah recounted.
In a sharp rebuke, Upah questioned the patriotism of the police, asserting that the NLC’s commitment to Nigeria was beyond reproach. “No one has a monopoly of patriotism. The police don’t love the country as much as some of us,” he declared.
He also issued a warning to the government, cautioning that continued harassment of the NLC could have far-reaching consequences.
“If the government does not stop itself and decide to go the way of perdition, it will certainly affect our relationship. It is capable of derailing our relationship substantially.”
Chioma Kalu
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