By Adesina Soyooye
Bowing to pressure, the Inspector General of Police, Dr Kayode Egbetokun, has ordered a thorough investigation into the brutalisation of the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Comrade Joe Ajaero.
Ajaero was badly manhandled in Owerri on the 1st of November, 2023, allegedly, by operatives of the Imo State Police Command and political thugs when he went to Owerri to mobilise Workers for a protest against the Imo State Government over Workers’ alleged poor welfare.
He was so brutalised that he ended up firstly, in the Police Hospital, and then, the Federal Medical Centre, Owerri. He suffered head, neck and arm injuries. He is still under medical attention at a Private Hospital in Abuja
The Police denied complicity, and so did the Imo State Government. The Police claimed it took Ajaero into protective custody to avoid his being lynched by a mob.
But Ajaero insists that he was arrested by the Police, blind-folded and handed over to thugs who beat him to a pulp. The Police, he revealed, later joined in his brutalisation.
The humiliation of Ajaero sparked a National outrage with calls on the IGP and the Federal Government for a thorough investigation.
The World Owerri Peoples Congress, WOPC, Ajaero’s a high profile association of Ajaero’s kinsmen and women, enraged by the incident, called for justice and the immediate investigation into the incident. WOPC’s statement, signed by its President, Nze Ben Azunna, urged the prosecution of all the Police Operatives involved in the scandal, and lamented what it described as an insult to Owerri people by the beating of Owerri son on official duty in his home State and community soil.
The NLC and the Trade Union Congress, TUC, threw Imo State into a blackout, disconnecting power supply, and on Thursday, stopped all flights from operating into, and out of Owerri. They also threaten a nationwide strike as from November 14, 2023.
But on Friday, the IGP in a statement signed by Force Spokesperson, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, ordered an investigation into Ajero’s ordeal. He pleaded for calm, and promised a transparent thorough investigation.
The Deputy Inspector General of Police, Force Criminal Investigation Department, is the Head of the Investigation Team.
Following, the statement from the Force Headquarters.
ALLEGED ASSAULT OF NLC PRESIDENT: IGP WADES IN, CHARGES DIG FCID ON THOROUGH INVESTIGATION…Calls For Calm
“The Inspector General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, Ph.D., NPM, has ordered investigations into the circumstances surrounding the alleged assault on the person of the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Comrade Joe Ajaero.
“Consequently, he has directed the Deputy Inspector General in charge of the Force Criminal Investigation Department to take over the matter with the primary objective of ascertaining the true facts surrounding the incident and to address any ambiguities that may exist as the Police has been inundated with different versions of the incident making investigations imperative to clear the conflicting accounts.
“The Nigeria Police Force understands the importance of transparency and accountability in maintaining public trust. The IGP therefore assures the public, most especially the leadership of the organized labour, that a thorough and unbiased inquiry will be conducted to provide clarifications while urging organized labour and the public to remain calm, as he has personally intervened to address the issues surrounding this incident.
“The investigation has commenced, and the Nigeria Police Force guarantees that it will be followed to a conclusive end, and appropriate actions will be taken based on the findings of the investigation.”
