Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has strongly criticized the federal government following the arrest of Nigeria Labour Congress President Joe Ajaero by the Department of State Services (DSS) and the subsequent takeover of the Abuja office of the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP).
Ajaero was detained in the early hours of Monday at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja. On the same day, DSS operatives surrounded SERAP’s office in the capital city.
In a statement posted on his verified X account on Tuesday, Atiku, the 2023 presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), expressed deep concern, stating that “the level of oppressive control now imposed surpasses even the harshest days of military dictatorship.”
Atiku further remarked: “The escalating assault on civil society and the media by the Bola Tinubu administration is profoundly disturbing. The recent arrest of Mr. Joe Ajaero, President of the Nigerian Labour Congress, en route to an official event, epitomizes this regime’s relentless campaign to intimidate and subdue organized labor.”
He highlighted the recent detention of a journalist by security forces, which was later dismissed as a “grievous error,” questioning what could have happened if the mistake had been fatal. Atiku also condemned the encroachment on SERAP’s office, describing it as a severe violation of democratic principles.
He called on President Tinubu to redirect security efforts towards combating terrorists and bandits rather than targeting civil society organizations and the media. “It is imperative that Tinubu and his security apparatus focus their efforts on the real perpetrators of violence — terrorists and bandits — who are causing immense suffering among the Nigerian people,” Atiku stated.
