The anticipated second interrogation of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President Joe Ajaero, scheduled for Thursday, was conspicuously derailed as neither Ajaero nor NLC Secretary, Emmanuel Ugboaja, appeared at the Force Criminal Investigation Department in Abuja.
“They didn’t show up. I’m aware they notified the authorities they wouldn’t be attending today and have instead proposed to appear on September 25,” the source disclosed.
Mr Femi Falana, SAN, counsel to the NLC and who accompanied Ajaero during his first police appearance on August 29, had previously suggested that the labour leaders might request a postponement of their interrogation. “We wrote for another date,” Falana confirmed Thursday, “as Comrade Joe Ajaero had an engagement outside Abuja today.”
Ajaero’s current troubles with law enforcement stem from serious allegations, including terrorism financing, cybercrime, subversion, conspiracy, and treasonable felony. His initial invitation followed a late-night police raid on the NLC’s national headquarters in Abuja. Central to the investigation is a suspected connection between Ajaero and a Briton, Andrew Wynne, who is accused of funding recent #EndBadGovernance and #Hunger protests, allegedly aimed at destabilising President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
After Ajaero’s first encounter with the police in August, a follow-up letter, signed by Commissioner of Police, Operations, Ibitoye Alajide, requested his return on September 5, along with General Secretary Ugboaja, to answer further questions regarding criminal intimidation, public disturbance, and property damage.
The letter outlined the details: “In furtherance of investigations into the alleged case of criminal intimidation, conducts likely to cause breach of public peace, and malicious damage to properties in which your name featured, you are requested to come along with Comrade Emmanuel Ugboaja for an interview… at the Force Intelligence Department Complex, Shehu Shagari Way, Abuja on Thursday, September 5, at 11 a.m.”
As the probe deepens, the tension between Nigeria’s labour movement and the government appears to be edging into uncharted territory. The delay in the NLC leaders’ interrogation may prove to be just another development in a rapidly escalating saga.
