The president of the country’s largest union was arrested on Monday, the Nigeria Labor Congress (NLC) said.
Joe Ajero was apprehended by officers of the Department of State Security (DSS) at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in the capital, Abuja, as he attempted to board a flight to the UK.
Days after Ajero’s arrest he criticized the Nigerian government for raising the price of gasoline by 39% and threatened to strike if the decision was not reversed.
The United Action Front of Civil Society condemned Ajero’s arrest as being carried out “in a Gestapo manner” – likening his arrest to Nazi Germany’s dreaded secret police force – and criticized the “unnecessary show of force”.
They said the DSS had “broken the civil and traditional practices previously adopted by the police in security matters involving prominent high-profile citizens and people’s leaders such as the president of the NLC.”
“Instead of inviting such persons, they have resorted to inhumane tactics like forced abduction to shame and intimidate them like common criminals.”
High fuel prices in early August are among the reasons, and analysts say the latest hike could further fuel inflation that is already in the double digits.
The Department of State Security did not immediately comment on the arrests.
mf/rm (Reuters)
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