News
DSS frees NLC President, withholds passport
President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Joe Ajaero has been freed by the Department of State Services, DSS which granted him administrative bail
He was released a few minutes before the 12 midnight ultimatum issued by the organised labour.
Pro-democracy activist and presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, Omoyele Sowore, announced his release in a tweet on Monday night.
“BREAKING: The fascist regime of @officialABAT has released the @NLCHeadquarters President Joe Ajaero from @OfficialDSSNG custody on bail,” he wrote on X.com.
Ajaero was arrested on Monday morning at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on his way to the United Kingdom for an official assignment.
The NLC president was billed to attend the Trade Union Congress conference in London, which begins today.
Also, the DSS raided the Abuja office of SERAP in Abuja.
Reports indicate that the officers were seeking to speak with the directors of the rights group.
In response to its president’s arrest, the NLC held a closed-door meeting with stakeholders in Abuja on Monday, demanding Ajaero’s immediate release and instructing all chapters to prepare for a potential nationwide strike.
The NLC’s National Administrative Council in a statement issued after its meeting by Adeyanju Adewale, NLC’s deputy president, described the detention as “brazen and illegal” and an “affront to the rights of workers and democratic principles.”
The council demanded Ajaero’s release by 12 midnight on Monday and also called for the reversal of the recent petrol price hike to N617/Litre.
The NLC disclosed that it had placed its affiliates, state councils, and civil society allies on red alert, warning that it would not stand by while workers’ rights were trampled upon.
The congress reaffirmed its commitment to defending workers’ rights and opposing oppression, urging the government to reverse its “dangerous trend” and implement the new National Minimum Wage.
The communiqué read, “The National Administrative Council of the Nigeria Labour Congress convened an emergency meeting today to address the alarming and unlawful arrest and detention of Comrade Joe Ajaero, President of the NLC, by agents of the Nigerian Government.
“Comrade Ajaero was arrested and detained at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja while en-route to the United Kingdom, where he was scheduled to attend and address the Congress of the Trade Union Congress of Britain, representing Nigerian workers in critical discussions on workers’ rights and social justice.
“After extensive deliberation, the NAC resolved as follows: The Council unequivocally condemns the brazen and illegal detention of Comrade Joe Ajaero by the Nigerian state without any legal warrant or justification. The NLC notes with grave concern that Comrade Ajaero was lawfully discharging his duties to represent Nigerian workers and had not committed any offense warranting such action.
“His detention is an affront to the rights of workers and the democratic principles of freedom of movement and expression.
“The NLC demands the immediate and unconditional release of Comrade Joe Ajaero before 12 midnight today. The Council reiterates that Joe Ajaero is not a fugitive or a criminal, and his detention is an act of intimidation aimed at silencing dissent and stifling the labour movement’s voice in Nigeria. NAC also demands the immediate reversal of the current hike in the price of petrol to N617/litre.
“The congress places all its affiliates, state councils, civil society allies, and the Nigerian populace on red alert. The detention of Comrade Ajaero is an attack not just on the NLC leadership but on the rights of all workers and citizens to organize, protest, and express themselves freely. The NLC will not stand by while these rights are trampled upon. This provocation is another attempt by the State to scuttle the implementation of the new National Minimum Wage.”
The legal team of suspended Kogi Central Senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, say they are ready with factil evidence to defend her in court.
The team received a formal summons in the case filed against her by the Federal Government at the Federal Capital Territory High Court last week.
On Friday, May 16, 2025, the Federal Government filed the suit, marked CR/297/25, over alleged defamatory remarks made during a live appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on April 3, 2025.
The government accused the senator of “making imputation knowing or having reason to believe that such imputation will harm the reputation of a person”, citing Section 391 of the Penal Code, cap 89, Laws of the Federation, 1990.
Among the witnesses listed to testify during the trial were Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and a former governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello.
Others include Asuquo Ekpenyong, a senator; Sandra Duru; Maya Iliya, investigating police officers; and Abdulhafiz Garba, investigating police officers.
However, in a statement issued Friday night by Dr. Ehiogie West-Idahosa (SAN) on behalf of the legal team, Akpoti-Uduaghan’s lawyers confirmed receipt of the formal summons and pledged to prepare all “factual and statutory defences” available to the lawmaker during trial.
“At about 2:30pm on Friday, May 23, 2025, within the premises of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Abuja, we received the information filed by the Director of Public Prosecutions, containing three counts alleging that our client, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan of Kogi Central, made imputations she had reason to believe would harm the reputation of Senator Godswill Akpabio, President of the 10th Senate,” the statement read.
“We received the said information on her behalf through a letter of authority duly issued and filed in the court’s registry.
“The legal team will fully prepare and present all factual and statutory defences available to our client during the trial.”
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) will on Tuesday next week begin the take over of 4,794 properties in Abuja, including the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) headquarters, due to unpaid ground rent.
The PDP headquarters, currently under construction in Abuja’s Central Business District, is among the affected properties, having been revoked in March for several years of unpaid ground rent. The FCTA disclosed that 4,794 titles had been revoked for failure to pay ground rent, with some defaults dating back 43 years.
The affected properties are located in various districts, including Central Area, Garki I and II, Wuse I and II, Asokoro, Maitama, and Guzape.
The defaulters owe over N6.96 billion in ground rent. The FCTA had given a 21-day grace period for owners with debts under 10 years, which has now expired.
The FCTA officials announced that the takeover would begin on Monday, May 26, 2025, with the sealing off and restriction of access to the affected properties.
The Director of Land Administration, Chijioke Nwankwoeze emphasized that the revocations were carried out under Section 28(5)(a)(b) of the Land Use Act, which empowers the government to reclaim land when the terms of occupancy are violated.
Two people sustained serious injuries when a training aircraft crash-landed at the Ilorin International Airport on Friday.
Director of Public Affairs and Family Assistance, NSIB, Mrs Bimbo Oladeji, who disclosed this in a statement, said the incident occurred at 17:28 local time on May 23, 2025, during a simulated instrument approach on Runway 05 at Ilorin International Airport.
Oladeji said the aircraft veered off the runway and came to a stop on the grass verge, leaving the two occupants on board injured.
She stated: “Both sustained serious injuries and were swiftly evacuated to a medical facility, coordinated by the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, NAMA.
“In response, the NSIB Go-Team is currently preparing to depart from Abuja to Ilorin to conduct on-site investigations. The team will secure the site, collect physical evidence, interview witnesses, and retrieve operational data to establish the cause and contributing factors of the incident.”
Quoting the Director General of the NSIB, Captain Alex Badeh Jr., she said “Our thoughts are with the injured, and we commend the swift medical and emergency response. Now, our focus is on understanding exactly what went wrong. Every investigation is an opportunity to improve safety. We are deploying our team to Ilorin to ensure that no detail is overlooked.”
-
News2 years agoBreaking: Tinubu’s authentic ministerial nominees
-
News2 years ago“Anytime we want to kill terrorists, President would ask us to take permission from France but they were killing our soldiers-” Niger Republic coup leader
-
News2 years ago“I’m leaving the Catholic church because Bishop Onah is oppressing me,” says Okunerere
-
News2 months agoSenate to speed up conclusion of Nigeria Forest Security Service Bill
-
News2 years agoDokpesi and the Gazebo Mystique
-
News2 years agoRadio Nigeria’s veteran broadcaster Kelvin Ugwu dies three months after retirement from service
-
News1 year agoPersons against Allagoa’s reforms behind protests at NSITF
-
News2 years agoTsunami: Tinubu orders dissolution of managements, boards of MDAs, to sack all Buhari’s political appointees