‘Police acted on petition after it was withdrawn’ — Air Peace speaks on Ajaero’s arrest

Air Peace, Nigeria’s flag carrier, has corroborated TheCable’s report that Joe Ajaero, president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), was arrested over a petition by the airline in 2023.

On Monday, Ajaero was arrested by security operatives suspected to be personnel of the Department of State Services (DSS).

Following his arrest, sources told TheCable that the arrest was due to his failure to honour police invitation over a petition by Air Peace.

Also, Ajaero was said to have failed to honour an invitation by the DSS over an alleged case of extortion.

In a statement on Monday by Omotade Makinwa, Air Peace spokesperson, the airline said the police acted on the petition a year after it was withdrawn.

“Air Peace Airline expresses deep concern over recent media reports regarding the arrest of the President of the NLC in connection to a petition filed by the airline in September 2023,” the company said.

“This development, which has led to negative publicity, does not reflect the current relationship between Air Peace and the NLC.

“It is important to clarify the events leading up to the petition. On May 3, 2023, the NLC disrupted Air Peace operations as part of a broader conflict with the Imo State government.

“Although Air Peace had no involvement in the dispute between the NLC and the Imo State government, our airline was unfortunately used as a tool to exert pressure on the government. 

“This unlawful disruption of our services caused significant financial losses and impacted the travel plans of many Nigerians across multiple states.

“In response to this disruption, Air Peace’s legal team submitted a formal petition against the NLC to the Nigerian Police. Despite our repeated efforts to follow up on the petition, the Police failed to take prompt action.”

However, Makinwa said, over a year later, the police have chosen to act on the original petition, “which has now led to the alleged arrest of the NLC president”.

“Before this arrest, the airline and the NLC had already reached an amicable resolution, and Air Peace had withdrawn its petition, allowing a positive working relationship to resume between the two organisations,” he added.

On August 19, the police invited Ajaero for questioning over “a case of criminal conspiracy, terrorism financing, treasonable felony, subversion, and cybercrime”.