Air Peace, Nigeria’s leading airline, has confirmed that Joe Ajaero, the president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), was arrested due to a petition filed by the airline in 2023.
On Monday, Ajaero was detained by security operatives, who are suspected to be from the Department of State Services (DSS).
The arrest has been linked to Ajaero’s failure to respond to previous police and DSS invitations concerning the petition from Air Peace.
In a statement released by Omotade Makinwa, Air Peace’s spokesperson, the airline detailed the background of the petition.
According to Makinwa, the airline’s legal team had submitted the petition in response to disruptions caused by the NLC in May 2023.
On May 3, 2023, NLC members disrupted Air Peace operations as part of a broader conflict with the Imo State government.
Although Air Peace was not involved in the dispute between the NLC and the Imo State government, the airline was affected.
The disruption led to significant financial losses and impacted many travelers across various states.
“Air Peace expresses deep concern over the recent media reports regarding the arrest of NLC President Joe Ajaero,” Makinwa said.
“This arrest is connected to a petition we filed in September 2023, which was actually withdrawn more than a year ago.”
Makinwa explained that the petition had been submitted after Air Peace’s operations were unlawfully disrupted.
Despite the withdrawal of the petition and the resolution of the matter between the airline and the NLC, the police have only recently acted on the case.
“The airline and the NLC had already reached an amicable resolution, and we had withdrawn our petition,” Makinwa added.
“The current arrest, therefore, is surprising given that we had hoped to resume a positive working relationship.”
Earlier, on August 19, the police had invited Ajaero for questioning over a case involving several serious allegations, including criminal conspiracy, terrorism financing, treasonable felony, subversion, and cybercrime.
The arrest of Ajaero has sparked significant media attention and raised questions about the timing and reasons behind the police action.
The situation highlights ongoing tensions between Air Peace and the NLC, despite the resolution and withdrawal of the original petition.
