Air Peace has clarified its position regarding the arrest of Joe Ajaero, the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress.

Ajaero was apprehended by agents of the Department of State Service on Monday at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja while en route to the United Kingdom for an official duty.

In a statement issued by the airline's spokesperson, Omotade Makinwa, Air Peace addressed media reports suggesting that the NLC president's arrest was linked to a petition filed by the airline.

Makinwa emphasized that such reports have resulted in unfavorable publicity for Air Peace.

The airline representatives expressed their frustration, stating that they had submitted a petition over a year ago, yet no action had been taken by the authorities.

The declaration 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said, “Before this arrest, the airline and the NLC had already reached an amicable resolution, and Air Peace had withdrawn its petition, allowing a positive working relationship to resume between the two organisations.”