The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has accused the police in Imo State of brutalising its National President, Joe Ajaero, on Wednesday in Owerri, the state capital.
Background
The national leadership of the NLC had alleged that Mr Ajaero was arrested by police operatives at the state capital on Wednesday.
“President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Comrade Joe Ajaero was picked up a few minutes ago from NLC state council secretariat by heavily armed policemen in Owerri and taken to an unknown destination,” Benson Upah, the head of information of the NLC, had said.
The development came on the day set aside by the NLC national leadership to hold a protest in Imo State over an alleged violation and abuse of the rights and privileges of workers by the Imo State Government.
The police in Imo State would later say they did not arrest the NLC president.
Henry Okoye, the police spokesperson in Imo State, in a statement, said the police only took the NLC president “into protective custody” in response to a mob attack against him.
The police spokesperson narrated that Mr Ajero visited the state as part of the arrangements of the NLC to mobilise workers for their scheduled protest in the state on Wednesday, but a disagreement among the workers later resulted in a scuffle.
Mr Okoye said the scuffle worsened and led to a mob attack against the NLC president, prompting the police to take the “NLC president into protective custody at the State Command Headquarters” to ensure his protection.
He said the commissioner of police in the state later directed that the NLC president should be taken to the Police Medical Services, Owerri for “medical attention” as a result of the mob attack.
‘Thoroughly brutalised’
But in another statement, on Wednesday evening, Mr Upah, the NLC spokesperson, insisted that the union’s national president was arrested by the police.
He confirmed that Mr Ajaero has been released, but accused the police in the state of brutalising the NLC president upon his arrest.
“Immediately after his arrest, he was beaten up and blindfolded and taken to an unknown destination where more brutalisation took place, sometimes with bottles,” he said in the statement.
Mr Upah said the union made “contact” with Mr Ajaero at about 3:30 p.m. at the Police Hospital from where he was taken to the Federal Medical Centre, Owerri for medical treatment.
“Thoroughly brutalised, his right eye at the time of the contact was completely shut. His phones, money and other personal effects were taken off him and have not been returned to him,” he stated.
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