The Labour Party has been thrown into turmoil following the arrest of its national chairman, Julius Abure, and Edo State chairman, Kelly Ogbaloi, by law enforcement officers in Benin City.
According to a statement released by party spokesperson Obiora Ifoh, Abure and Ogbaloi were apprehended on Wednesday afternoon following a series of events that unfolded after a successful delegate election in Benin. The party had been gearing up for its upcoming primaries scheduled for Friday.
The statement outlined that earlier in the day, Abure, along with gubernatorial aspirants and party officials, had participated in a routine security briefing with the Department of State Services (DSS). However, immediately after the meeting, Abure was reportedly arrested by a joint team of DSS and police officers, along with Ogbaloi and their associates. The party alleges that the arrests were accompanied by unnecessary force and mistreatment of its members.
Ifoh further claimed that the arrests were linked to a protest letter penned by a former member of the party, known to be aligned with the Lamidi Apapa faction. This factional dispute appears to have prompted the arrests, with the intention to disrupt the primary process and undermine the Labour Party’s involvement in the forthcoming governorship election.
In response to the situation, the Deputy National Chairman of the Party, Dr. Ayo Olurunfemi, emphasized in a video statement that no amount of intimidation would deter the party from carrying out its duties and completing the process leading to the selection of the Labour Party’s candidate for the governorship race in the state.
The arrests have cast a shadow over the party’s internal affairs and raised concerns about the integrity of the electoral process. As tensions escalate, the Labour Party remains resolute in its commitment to upholding democratic principles and ensuring a fair and transparent selection process for its candidates.