Facts emerged yesterday evening that the arrest of the national chairman of the Labour Party (LP), Barr Julius Abure, by men of the Edo State Police Command in Benin City may not unconnected with alleged attempted murder and mob attack.
His arrest was prompted by a petition written to the police by the youth leader of the Labour Party, Comrade Eragbe Anselm, who sent the document to the commissioner, Edo State Police Command.
The petition by Anselm reads: “I, Comrade Eragbe Anselm, write to you with utmost urgency and grave concern regarding a heinous act of violence perpetrated against me on the 29th of December, 2023.
“I am a member and National Youth Leader of the Labour Party (LP) in Nigeria, and the events I am about to recount are of utmost importance for justice and the safety of individuals involved in political activities.
“On December 28, 2023, I flew into Benin City Airport around 2pm as part of an official five-member delegation authorised by the acting national chairman of the Labour Party, Alhaji Lamidi Basiru Apapa.
He said their mission was to organise Ward, LGA, and State Congresses in Edo State, as well as supervise the sale of nomination forms for various posts, as mandated by INEC guidelines, within the stipulated time frames.
“On arrival at the Benin Airport, I was received by one Mrs Mary Okheime Newberry, who falsely claimed to be providing transportation and accommodation on behalf of unnamed ‘stakeholders.’
“She proceeded to lodge us at the Smart Homes Hotel, unknown to us that she was plotting a sinister and gruesome ambush. The next morning, a man named Austin Emeka came to pick me and my colleague, Mr Patrick Anethua, up from the hotel lobby, pretending to take us to a meeting venue.
“Instead, we were violently attacked just outside the hotel gates by a waiting mob.”
In a reaction to the incident, the national publicity secretary of the LP, Obiora Ifoh, said the party chairman, along with party governorship aspirants, kept a scheduled security briefing with the Department of the State Services (DSS).
He said Abure was however arrested after the meeting by a combined team of DSS and police officers. Abure, Ogbaloi and their aides were also manhandled.
Obiora said efforts by some party leaders to have access to the Zone 5 headquarters were turned down due to the huge crowd of party supporters who were expressing their displeasure over the arrest of Abure.
However, a police source informed the party officials and other governorship aspirants at the gate of the police headquarters that the arrest was in connection to a protest letter by one of the expelled members of the party loyal to Lamidi Apapa’s dissident camp.
The source also confirmed that the arrest was not unconnected to the ongoing party primary and the possible candidate that will emerge which the state government is vehemently opposed to.
He said the arrest was to frustrate the primary process and possibly interrupt the party’s participation in the governorship election.
The deputy national chairman of the party, Dr. Ayo Olurunfemi, in a video post, said that no form of intimidation from the highest quarters can stop the party from concluding the process leading to the emergence of the Labour Party government in the state.
In another development, two governorship candidates and a House of Representatives candidate of the party in the 2023 general elections have said their signatures for withdrawal were forged by the chairman.
They therefore called for Abure’s prosecution.
The former candidates said they had applied for their Certified True Certified (CTC) from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and established a forgery case against Abure.
The aggrieved candidates – LP governorship candidates for Ebonyi State and Plateau States, Eze Oko Splendour and Chief Yohana Yilpwan Margif respectively, and the House of Representatives candidate for Edo Orhionmwon/ Uhunmwode Federal constituency, Imasuen Paul Murphy – said they have established forgery allegations through police investigation for which Abure was detained.
Each of the candidates at a joint press conference in Abuja yesterday narrated their ordeals, stating how they were fraudulently substituted with forged signatures, documents, and withdrawal letters submitted to INEC.
They highlighted other illegal acts of Abure to include their unlawful substitution of LP candidates submitted to INEC, fake and forged sworn affidavits of FCT High Court receipts, seals and oaths.
They also accused Abure of collecting N30 million bribe from each of their alleged substitutes.
Comrade Splendour said he won the LP primary for Ebonyi State but what should have been a straight forward democratic process was marred by criminality, deceit, and manipulations orchestrated by the party’s national chairman.
“Despite numerous attempts by Abure to evade accountability, the diligent efforts of law enforcement officials led to his eventual apprehension.”
