Some stakeholders of the Labour Party (LP) have called for the immediate prosecution of the party’s national chairman, Julius Abure, along with Umar Farouk Ibrahim, Ojukwu Clement, and Edward Nkwegu Okereke, over allegations of perjury, forgery, and criminal conspiracy.
Some LP officials, alongside anti-corruption activists, criticised the attorney general of the federation (AGF) and minister of Justice for failing to act on a standing criminal prosecution order issued by the Inspector General of Police (IGP) on October 25, 2023.
The call by the party stakeholders comes barely 24 hours after the national publicity secretary of the party, Obiora Ifoh, tackled the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the LP Transition Committee for trying to malign Abure’s image over the same issue.
Ifoh also said a Police report declared there was no case of forgery against Abure.
But addressing journalists yesterday in Abuja, chairman of the Nigerian Corruption Watch Magazine, Labour Party (LP), Comrade Prince Rowland, speaking on behalf of the LP National Caretaker Chairperson, Nenadi Usman, stated that the case, initially brought forward by complainant Eze Oko, stems from accusations that Abure and Umar Farouk Ibrahim forged a signature withdrawal letter submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) during the 2023 general elections.
He emphasized that a forensic audit report has allegedly confirmed the forgery, with Certified True Copies (CTCs) of the police investigation report further substantiating the charges.
He further alleged that Abure and Ibrahim manipulated a court order to unlawfully remove Eze Oko, the validly nominated Labour Party gubernatorial candidate for Ebonyi State, even after a Supreme Court ruling upheld his candidacy.
“The Nigeria Police Force’s Legal Department reportedly advised that the suspects be immediately charged, yet no action has been taken,” he claimed.
He said the delay undermines President Bola Tinubu’s anti-corruption agenda and tarnishes Nigeria’s justice system.
“This non-compliance with the IGP’s prosecution order is unacceptable,” the LP National Caretaker Committee (NCC) stated, “and it has forced us to demand urgent action from the AGF.”
