Air Peace has distanced itself from the arrest of the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero.
Ajaero was arrested by men of the Department of State Services (DSS) on Monday at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on his way to the United Kingdom for an official assignment.
In a statement signed by the spokesperson for the airline, Omotade Makinwa, Air Peace said it was reacting to media reports insinuating that the secret police picked the NLC president over a petition submitted by the airline.
Makinwa noted that the report had created negative publicity for the airline.
The publicists complained that it submitted a petition over a year ago but the police refused to act on it.
The statement read in part, “Air Peace Airline expresses deep concern over recent media reports regarding the arrest of the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in connection to a petition filed by the airline in September 2023. 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, the airline added that “over a year later, the Nigerian Police have chosen to act on the original petition, which has now led to the alleged arrest of the NLC president.”
Makinwa said, “Before this arrest, the airline and the NLC had already reached an amicable resolution, and Air Peace had withdrawn its petition, allowing a positive working relationship to resume between the two organisations.”
