Policemen Tied My Hands, Dragged Me On The Floor; I Can’t Explain The Beating I Received – Nigeria Labour Congress President, Joe Ajaero

The NLC leader added that he could not “explain the beating I received” adding that he was not a member of any political party as alleged by the Governor Hope Uzodimma-led state government.

The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, has said that operatives of the Nigerian Police Force tied his hands and dragged him on the floor when they took him into custody in Owerri, Imo State capital.

The NLC leader added that he could not “explain the beating I received” adding that he was not a member of any political party as alleged by the Governor Hope Uzodimma-led state government.

Ajaero was reportedly brutalised by operatives of the Nigeria Police Force  last week Wednesday in Owerri when he led workers to protest over unpaid salaries in the state.

The NLC and the Trade Union Congress had declared a nationwide strike following the incident.

Addressing journalists in Abuja, Ajaero who wore a dark shade to cover his swollen eyes, lamented that the kind of beating he received after security agents handed him over to the thugs was better imagined than explained.

This was even as he claimed the NLC wrote to intimate all the security agencies about the protest before the fateful day.

“I can’t explain the beating I received. They tied my hands and dragged me on the floor like a common criminal. I am not even a card-carrying member of any political party as alleged,” he stated.

It was earlier reported that the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, ordered thorough investigations into the circumstances surrounding the attack and assault on Ajaero.

In a statement issued on Friday, the Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, had said that the IGP directed the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) in charge of the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) 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.”