The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has made it clear that it cannot be silenced, after its president Joe Ajaero was released from detention.
The statement comes on the heels of Ajaero’s “unlawful” arrest by the Department of State Services (DSS), which the NLC deems a direct attack on workers’ rights and democratic principles.
The NLC has been vocally critical of the government’s neglect of citizens’ welfare and the crippling hardship faced by Nigerian workers.
In response, they organised a two-day nationwide mass protest, scheduled for February 27 and 28, to demand change.
Ajaero was arrested at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja on Monday, on his way to the United Kingdom for a global Trade Union Congress (TUC) meeting.
He was, however, released on bail about after 11:00 pm on same day, following a threat by the NLC to mobilise its affiliate unions for a nationwide showdown with the Federal government if their leader was not released by midnight on Monday, September 9.