By Chinedu Echianu
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has declared that its President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, remains “unbroken” one year after his controversial arrest and detention by state authorities.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, by its Acting General Secretary Benson Upah, the union described the incident as a “sordid event” in Nigeria’s democratic journey, accusing the government of attempting to silence workers’ voices through intimidation and political repression.
Ajaero was arrested at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on September 9, 2024, allegedly for speaking out against rights violations, rising poverty, job insecurity, and worsening living conditions. He was detained on charges of cybercrime, conspiracy, and treason—charges the NLC insists were politically motivated.
The union recalled that the detention followed Ajaero’s earlier abduction and brutalisation in Owerri, the Imo state capital, incidents for which no one has been prosecuted despite assurances from the National Security Adviser. The NLC argued that the arrest was part of a broader attempt to weaken labour resistance to policies such as privatisation, subsidy removal, tariff hikes, and wage suppression.
“Far from weakening us, it underscored the central truth of history: every attack on the working class only strengthens our resolve to struggle,” the statement read, adding that Ajaero’s detention provoked outrage both at home and across the global labour movement.
As it marked the one-year anniversary, the NLC urged workers, trade unions, youth, and progressive groups to intensify their resistance to what it called the government’s “neoliberal agenda” that impoverishes the masses.
“The answer is not to retreat but to mobilise; not silence but louder voices; not despair but greater organisation,” the union stated.
Reaffirming its commitment to democracy and social justice, the NLC stressed that the working class remains the backbone of the nation. “Attempts to silence us will always fail, for our strength lies in unity, solidarity, and in our unbreakable commitment to the sovereignty of our nation,” the statement concluded.
