The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has condemned the ‘arbitrary and illegal’ arrest and detention of the President of the Nigerian Labour Congress, Comrade Joe Ajaero.

The Rights Group has told the President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, that trade unionism, human rights activism and journalism are not in any way criminal but are rather integral stakeholders that sustain constitutional democracy.

According to Onwubiko, “HURIWA is asking the current administration to play the game of governance by the rules and the grund norm and to end the regime of arbitrariness, illegal detentions and unconstitutional harassment of media practices, rights activists and trade union figures such as the President of the Nigerian Labour Congress, Comrade Joe Ajaero, by armed goons who are directly under the command and control of the President and the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces.”

He said the president elected under the 1999 constitution must know that Nigeria is a constitutional democracy and his office is not the same as the tyranny that plays out in China, which recently hosted the Nigerian and African Presidents.

“Rather, under the Nigerian Constitution, the people are the owners of the sovereignty of Nigeria, whereas the elected politicians are only exercising power legitimately through the donations of legitimacy made to them by the people of Nigeria through a democratic election for specified tenure.”

HURIWA asked the leaders of the respectable and powerful international community, such as the President of the United States of America Mr. Joe Biden, the Prime Minister of Britain, Mr. Keir Starmer, the PM of Canada, Mr. Justin Trudeau and the Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr. Antonio Guiterres, to intervene in the rapidly deteriorating democratic standards in Nigeria under President Tinubu and to stop him from destroying democratic freedoms in his attempt to establish dictatorship and tyranny in Nigeria, which violates the sanctity of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria of 1999, as amended, which the current administration swore to uphold.

“We are by this statement calling for the immediate cessation of all kinds of coordinated attacks targeting the NLC, human rights campaigners and media practitioners by this administration so as to protect and preserve constitutional principles in Nigeria.”

HURIWA recalled that the operatives of the Department of State Services had arrested the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Joe Ajaero.

HURIWA recalled that Comrade 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.

Confirming the development in a post via its official X handle, the NLC said Ajaero’s arrest is an assault on Nigerian workers.

“This intimidation and assault must stop.”