Medical experts at the Federal University Teaching Hospital in Owerri are currently working diligently to save the eyes of Joe Ajaero, the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).
Ajaero’s condition took a dire turn after he was arrested by the Imo State Police Command while leading a protest in the state on Wednesday.
However, the state police command has offered a different perspective, claiming that they rescued Ajaero from an aggressive mob and placed him in protective custody.
Viral video footage captured Ajaero seated between two men as he was hurried to the Federal Medical Centre in Owerri.
In the video, the NLC leader expressed his inability to contact anyone but mentioned having a relative employed at FUTHO whom he hoped could assist him.
The incident has drawn sharp criticism from NLC officials, who have decried it as a grave act of attempted murder.
Benson Upah, the NLC Head of Information and Publicity, described the treatment of Ajaero as an abduction that escalated into an attempt on his life.
Upah disclosed, “Contact has been made with Congress President, Joe Ajaero, this evening around 15:30 hours at the Police Hospital in Owerri from where he was taken to Federal Medical Centre, Owerri, where he is receiving medical attention.
Thoroughly brutalized, his right eye, at the time of contact, was completely shut.”
The unfolding situation has raised concerns about the safety and wellbeing of protesters in the state and has prompted calls for a thorough investigation into the incident.
