Nigeria’s flag carrier, Air Peace, has refuted reports linking the airline to the arrest of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President Joe Ajaero.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶
Ajaero was arrested on Monday by security operatives suspected to be from the Department of State Services (DSS).
Sources initially claimed the arrest resulted from Ajaero’s failure to respond to police invitations related to a petition by Air Peace and an alleged case of extortion by the DSS.
However, Air Peace spokesperson Omotade Makinwa clarified in a statement that the police acted on the petition a year after it was withdrawn.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“Before this arrest, the airline and the NLC had already reached an amicable resolution, and Air Peace had withdrawn its petition, allowing a positive working relationship to resume between the two organisations,” he added.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”.
