My ordeal at DSS, by Ajaero

The president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero has described his ordeals  in the hands of DSS as embarrassing.

Speaking exclusively, to Vanguard on his ordeal in the hands of the DSS and other security operatives yesterday, Ajaero said: “It was like the DSS arrested me on behalf of the Intelligence Response Team, IRT, department of the Police because IRT operatives came to interrogate me and take my statement, while I was detained.

‘’The DSS also interrogated me and took my statement. I do not know why they have to embarrass me publicly like that. The same IRT operatives in whose office we were on August 29, 2024, alongside Mr Femi Falana, came and asked the same questions I was asked in the previous meeting with them.

“They asked about the operator of Iva Valley Bookshop on the second floor of NLC secretariat building. They asked me whether we had communicated on phone, whether he (the Iva Valley operator) communicated with me in writing and so on.

‘’They also asked if I know the protesters (#EndBadGovernance or #Endhunger), especially Eleojo Opaluwa, a staff of the National Union of Electricity Employees, NUEE. I told them I knew him because I employed him at NUEE.

“They equally asked about the Labour Party, LP, whether we are running the party. I told them we do not run Labour Party, but that we are a trustee of the party. I also told them that the Labour Party they see today was founded when Adams Oshiomhole was President of NLC. Also, they asked about the issue of Air Peace which we had settled since last year.

“It is like the security agents are searching for evidence on how and what to nail us with. That is why they have continued to embarrass, persecute, intimidate and do whatever they liked to cow us.’’

Ajaero: Nobody is above the law — FG

The Federal Government yesterday rejected accusation of rights abuse made against it by the United Kingdom (UK) Trade Union Congress (TUC), over the arrest of Joe Ajaero, president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), insisting that nobody, including the NLC president, is above the law in Nigeria.

Recall that President of Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Mr. Joe Ajaero, was arrested and detained by the Department of State Services, DSS, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, en route London to attend a conference of the Trade Union Congress, TUC, of UK.

The Federal Government, in a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the NLC president was arrested by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) because he refused to honour the invitation of a law enforcement agency carrying out an investigation.

“The Nigerian government was wrongly and falsely accused of rights abuse because the NLC President, Joe Ajaero, was stopped from travelling abroad after he snubbed the invitation of a law enforcement agency conducting an ongoing investigation.

“Clearly, under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (As Amended), no person is above the summons of law enforcement agencies and lawful investigation.

Government’s position came on a day Ajaero gave insight into his ordeal in the hands of operatives of DSS and other security agencies, following his Monday arrest.

‘FG wrongly accused of rights abuses’

Onanuga said, “We are not aware that there is anyone in the United Kingdom or anywhere in Europe and the United States, trade union leaders inclusive, who will flagrantly ignore the invitation or summons of MI5 or Scotland Yard or treat the FBI with the level of disdain Mr Ajaero has subjected law enforcement agencies in Nigeria.

“In the United States, for example, former President Donald Trump has been the subject of numerous investigations and prosecutions in courts in several states since he left office.
“Mr. Hunter Biden, son of the President of the United States, has been the subject of a lawful investigation by the FBI.

“We, therefore, reject any notion and allusion to human rights violations in Nigeria. The accusations made by the Trade Union Congress in the United Kingdom are, thus, unfounded and based on a misunderstanding of the situation.

“Besides, the Nigerian Government is being led by a pro-democracy activist president who will do everything to protect civil liberties and the rights of all citizens.

“There is no adversarial relationship between the Labour Movement in Nigeria and the government.

“While labour unions and the government may not always agree on policy direction, the government has consistently shown readiness to engage on any issue with labour despite the latter’s political partisanship.

“Contrary to the erroneous impression being created, the invitation extended by the Department of State Services to Mr. Ajaero has nothing to do with his role as the President of NLC.

“As a responsible citizen of Nigeria, Mr Ajaero should honour any invitation from our security agencies and resolve any issues that may arise during the investigation instead of stirring adverse public opinion against the security agencies.

“It is worth reminding Nigerians and the global community that the federal government recognises that the labour movement exists to protect and defend the interests of its members. What is also worth noting is that Labour, in most cases, only advances ideological positions that fly in the face of economic realities.

Man jailed 100 years for sexually assaulting two children

A Colorado man in the United States has been sentenced to over 100 years in prison by a judge for sexually assaulting two children in their relative’s home in 2021.

James Pinker, 34, received a sentence of 112 years to life from a Weld County, Colorado, judge on August 30, according to a statement released by the Weld County District Attorney’s Office earlier this week.

In June, Pinker was found guilty of four counts of sexual assault on a child in a pattern of abuse, the statement, issued on Monday, September 9, revealed.

These charges originated from an event that took place on December 12, 2021, when two young girls, whose ages were not specified, were playing in the basement of a relative’s home, according to authorities.

They were playing a game labelled as “Monsters,” they said, when Pinker came downstairs and began playing a “kissing” game with them.

“When asked what the ‘kissing’ game was, the victims said the defendant would put his mouth on their ‘privates’ and made them take their clothes off,” the statement said.

During last month’s sentencing hearing, a 17-year-old girl testified that Pinker had sexually abused her when she was younger, according to the statement.

Deputy District Attorney Timothy McCormack noted that Pinker had abused “several young children,” although it was not immediately clear whether charges had been filed in those additional cases.

“The defendant’s actions were not only heinous, but he shattered the innocence and lives of several young children,” McCormack said. “This sentence reflects the gravity of his crimes and the justice deserved for his victims.”