The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, has been reportedly arrested in Owerri, the Imo State capital.

Ajaero was picked up from the NLC State Council Secretariat by heavily armed policemen in Owerri and taken to an unknown destination.

The Head of Media at the NLC Headquarters, Benson Uper, stated this via a WhatsApp message to Channels Television.

The NLC is leading a statewide protest and strike in Owerri over what it described as lack of respect for workers, unpaid salaries and pensions, amongst others.

According to a source, the labour leader was arrested at the secretariat of the NLC in Imo while he was about to lead an ‘Occupy Imo’ protest slated for today.

The source said the police arrested Ajaero giving reasons that the labour leader has disobeyed an existing court order by the National Industrial Court restraining the NLC and the Trades Union Congress (TUC) from carrying out any protest in the state.

When contacted, the police spokesperson in Imo, Henry Okoye, said he has no information on the arrest of the labour leader yet, saying that he will make the information available as soon as he gets a clear picture of the situation.