The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has stated that its President, Joe Ajaero, was not invited by the Department of State Services (DSS) before his arrest. This clarification was made in a statement by NLC spokesperson, Benson Upah, on Wednesday.

"Our attention has been drawn to reports circulating across various media platforms, citing'sources within the DSS,' claiming that Comrade Joe Ajaero, President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, was invited by the DSS before his arrest, but failed to honor the invitation," the statement read.

The alleged "sources" further claimed that Ajaero's failure to respond to the invitation led to his arrest at the airport while he was en route to the UK. The NLC, however, has provided a different account. According to the statement, Ajaero had recently engaged in discussions with the Director General of the DSS during a courtesy visit. Following this, a DSS Director contacted the NLC General Secretary to arrange a date for another courtesy visit. The General Secretary explained that he would be unavailable until Friday, September 13, and the DSS official assured that the NLC leadership would receive a notice of at least 48 hours ahead of the visit.

Despite these interactions, Ajaero was arrested at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja on Monday while preparing to travel to the United Kingdom for an official assignment.

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