The president of Nigeria‘s largest union was arrested on Monday, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) said.
Joe Ajaero was apprehended by Department of State Security (DSS) officials at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in the capital, Abuja, as he tried to board a flight to the UK.
Ajaero’s arrest comes days after he criticised the Nigerian government for raising the price of gasoline by 39% and threatening a strike if the decision was not reversed.
The United Action Front of Civil Society condemned Ajaero’s arrest as having been carried out in a “Gestapo manner” – equating his arrest to Nazi Germany’s feared secret police force – and criticised a “needless show of force.”
They said the DSS had “broken the civil and conventional practice earlier adopted by the police in security matters concerning well-known high-profile citizens and leaders of the people, like the President of the NLC.”
“Instead of extending invitations to such individuals, they have resorted to dehumanising tactics such as forceful abduction to embarrass and intimidate them like common criminals.”
High fuel prices were among the reasons for cost of living protests in early August and analysts say the latest increase could further stoke inflation that is already in double digits.
The Department of State Security did not immediately comment on the arrest.
A version of this report was published by the Reuters news agency.
