The Imo State Commissioner for Information, Declan Emelumba, says officials of the state government were not among suspects arrested in connection with an assault on the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero.
The NLC leadership had embarked on strike on Tuesday and accused the Imo State Government of sending some of its officials to supervise the brutalisation of Ajaero.
The National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, on Wednesday, said some suspects were arrested over the assault on Ajaero in Imo State on November 1, 2023.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme on Thursday, Emelumba said that the suspects arrested were not officials of the state government.
The commissioner said, “I will say emphatically that the government has no hands in that attack. The governor has also regretted the attack; he feels bad that he (Ajaero) was treated that way,” he said.
“But I think it is also important to note that the NSA has said that they have arrested some of those who attacked him, and the police are investigating. It’s a statement of fact, and I don’t think any government official was among those arrested.”
Dismissing claims that one of the governor’s aides was involved, Emelumba stated, “The governor’s aide was not involved. I can tell you categorically. He wasn’t even around Imo State that day; these are figments of imagination. No government official was involved, and this is verifiable.”
The NLC has since called off its strike following the intervention of the NSA.
