“Abure’s arrest is a threat to our party, we’ll not succumb” — Labour Party

Following the arrest of Labour Party’s National Chairman, Julius Abure on Wednesday, Dr. Ayo Olurunfemi, the Deputy National Chairman of the Party, has vowed that the party won’t back down or be intimidated by anyone.

According to Olurunfemi, the arrest of Abure is a threat to their party.

GistReel had reported earlier that Abure was arrested on Wednesday in Edo State.

His arrest was confirmed by spokesperson for the Nigeria Police Force Zone 5, Tijani Momoh who did not give full details of the arrest.

Reacting to the arrest, Olurunfemi in a video posted soon after the arrest of the party’s National Chairman, vowed never to be intimidated by anyone.

Also, National Publicity Secretary of the party, Obiora Ifoh, said protesters took to the streets following the arrest of the party leader by a combined team of Police and detectives of the Department of State Services less than two days to the party primary.

He said, “A Heavy crowd of protesters besieged the Zone 5 headquarters of the Police Command in Benin City over the arrest of the National Chairman of the Labour Party, Barrister Julius Abure.”

Also arrested was the state chairman of the party, Kelly Ogbaloi.

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 the State Security.

Abure was however arrested after the meeting by a combined team of DSS and Police officers. Abure, Ogbaloi and their aides were also manhandled.

Efforts 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.

Although reasons for the arrests are yet to be made public, a Police source was said to have informed party officials and governorship aspirants at the gate of the Police Headquarters that the arrest was in response to a petition written by an expelled party member loyal to self professed factional chairman, Alhaji Lamidi Apapa.

The source equally confirmed that the arrest had a lot to do with the ongoing party primary as well as who will eventually emerge as the party’s standard bearer.

Ifoh explained that information available to the party at this stage indicates that the ultimate aim of the arrest is to frustrate the primary process and possibly interrupt the party’s participation in the governorship election.