Former labour leader, Oshiomhole, recounts terrible ordeal in hands of DSS

Adams Oshiomhole, a former president of the Nigeria labour Congress (NLC) and senator from Edo North, on Wednesday, described an incident in which he was attacked by DSS agents while serving as the labour leader from 1999 to 2007.

Oshiomhole narrated his experience on Channels Television’s Politics Today, in the wake of the recent assault on current NLC president Joe Ajaero in Imo State, prompting an indefinite nationwide strike which began on Tuesday.

“I had a similar experience… I was on my way to Delta State and I went to the airport,” he said.

“The then director of SSS ordered that I should be arrested and stopped from travelling because we had given an ultimatum to the then Federal Government headed by President Olusegun Obasanjo.”

According to him, the ultimatum had to do with resisting the attempt to withdraw fuel subsidy because of our fears of the consequential increase in the cost of living.

READ ALSO:Oshiomhole says NLC, TUC strike is misplaced priority

“They dragged me on the tarmac and I had cuts all over the place. They forcefully prevented me from flying and took me back to the DSS director general’s office — then Col. [Kayode] Are,” the former labour leader stated.

“He offered to take me to their own hospital and I said, ‘No, I can’t even trust a government that has inflicted this kind of wound on me to treat me. They might as well poison my blood.’ I said I wasn’t going to do that.”

Oshiomhole added that he ended up in detention after being “taken away” for two days.

“[For] at least 48 hours, the NLC couldn’t locate me. When eventually I was let out, the bandage on my arm with the blood and all that, I told my colleagues, ‘This blood would rather reinforce and whet my appetite for the struggle for justice,’” he said.

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now