The Labour Party (LP) has strongly condemned the arrest of its National Chairman, Julius Abure, in Benin City, the capital of Edo State.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, the party expressed outrage over Abure’s arrest by a combined team of police officers and operatives of the Department of State Security (DSS).
Ifoh revealed that Abure, alongside the state chairman of the party, Kelly Ogbaloi, and their aides were apprehended following a petition lodged by an expelled party member.
He lamented that despite efforts by party leaders to gain access to Abure at the Zone 5 headquarters, they were denied entry due to the overwhelming presence of party supporters expressing their discontent with the arrest.
According to Ifoh, the timing of the arrest, just days before the scheduled primary process, raises suspicions of an attempt to disrupt the party’s engagement in the forthcoming governorship election.
In the statement, he highlighted, “The Labour Party on Tuesday had a very successful delegate election in Benin ahead of the Party Primaries scheduled to hold on Friday. The party chairman only this morning along with party governorship aspirants also kept a scheduled security briefing with the Department of State Security (DSS).”
“Abure was however arrested after the meeting by a combined team of DSS and Police officers. Abure, Ogbaloi and their aides were also manhandled,” he added.
Furthermore, Ifoh disclosed, “Effort by some party leaders to have access to the Zone 5 headquarters was turned down due to the huge crowd of party supporters who were expressing their displeasure over the arrest of Abure.”
He concluded by indicating that the arrest seemed politically motivated, possibly linked to the ongoing party primary process and the perceived opposition of the state government to certain candidates.The post JUST IN: LP Reveals Those Behind Abure’s Arrest, What They Plan To Achieve first appeared on Newsdirect.
