The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has summoned Joe Ajaero, President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), for questioning over allegations of “criminal intimidation.” In a letter dated August 28, the police requested that Ajaero appear alongside Emmanuel Ugboaja, the NLC’s General Secretary, on Thursday, September 5, 2024.
The letter, signed by Deputy Commissioner of Police Ibitoye Rufus Alajide, stated that the invitation is part of ongoing investigations into allegations of criminal intimidation, actions likely to cause a breach of public peace, and malicious damage to property involving Ajaero. The police instructed both Ajaero and Ugboaja to meet with the Deputy Inspector General of Police at the Force Intelligence Department (FID) in Abuja.
NLC media head Benson Upah confirmed to TheCable that the letter was received on Friday.
This summons follows a previous invitation on August 20, where Ajaero was asked to appear before the Force Intelligence Response Team (IRT) over allegations of criminal conspiracy, terrorism financing, treasonable felony, subversion, and cybercrime. Ajaero, accompanied by human rights lawyer Femi Falana, initially visited the force headquarters on Thursday to honor that invitation but had earlier requested more details on the accusations.
The police’s interest in Ajaero is reportedly linked to the recent raid on the NLC secretariat in Abuja on August 7, where officers allegedly searched for seditious materials connected to the #EndBadGovernance protests. Inspector-General of Police Kayode Egbetokun later claimed that one of the masterminds of the Sudan conflict had ties to the NLC headquarters.
