The Inspector General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun has ordered investigations into the circumstances surrounding the alleged brutalisation of President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Joe Ajaero.
Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi disclosed this in a statement on Friday.
Recall that Ajaero was viciously attacked on Wednesday, November 1, by suspected hoodlums allegedly backed by the Imo state government when he led the union’s leadership to protest poor treatment of workers in the state last Wednesday.
At a World Press Conference in Abuja on Friday, November 10, the NLC president disclosed that police operatives handed him over to some suspected thugs for beating.
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This came days after the Imo State Police Command claimed to have only Ajaero into protective custody to save him from a mob attack.
The NLC president, who turned up for the conference in dark glasses apparently to hide his swollen face, said, ““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.”
In Friday’s statement, FPRO Adejobi said that the IGP has directed the Deputy Inspector General in charge of the Force Criminal Investigation Department 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 have been inundated with different versions of the incident making investigations imperative to clear the conflicting accounts.
“The Nigeria Police Force understands the importance of transparency and accountability in maintaining public trust. The IGP therefore assures the public, most especially the leadership of the organised labour, that a thorough and unbiased inquiry will be conducted to provide clarifications while urging organized labour and the public to remain calm, as he has personally intervened to address the issues surrounding this incident.
“The investigation has commenced, and the Nigeria Police Force guarantees that it will be followed to a conclusive end, and appropriate actions will be taken based on the findings of the investigation,” Adejobi said.