Nigeria’s Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, has ordered investigations into the circumstances surrounding the alleged assault on the person of the President of the National Labour Congress, Comrade Joe Ajaero.
This was contained in a statement signed by the Force Public Relations Officer ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi on Friday.
The IGP 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.
Adejobi also said that the Nigeria Police Force understands the importance of transparency and accountability in maintaining public trust.
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The force spokesman said the IGP Egbetokun 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 the 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.
The President of Nigeria Labour Congress, Joe Ajaero, on Friday, gave an account of how he was brutalized in Imo State, saying police operatives handed him over to some suspected thugs to be brutalized.
The Police Chief’s statement is a reaction to the NLC president’s narration of his traumatic experience at a world press conference held in Abuja.
Both developments are coming barely 24 hours before the governorship election in Imo State.
Comrade Ajaero was reportedly whisked away by security operatives at a protest in Owerri, the capital of Imo state on November 1, 2023.
The Ajaero-led protesters had accused Governor Hope Uzodimma of violating the rights of workers in the State.
(Editor: Ebuwa Omo-Osagie)
