Chijioke Edeoga: Abure’s arrest was an attempt to intimidate, undermine him

Chijioke Edeoga, governorship candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 elections in Enugu state, has condemned the arrest of Julius Abure, national chairman of the party. 

Abure was arrested on Wednesday in Benin City alongside Kelly Ogbaloi, the LP chairman in Edo state.

The police said Abure was arrested over a petition accusing him of attempted murder and conspiracy to commit dangerous harm.

The LP chairman has since been released.

In a statement, Edeoga said the action of the police amount to an abuse of rights.

Edeoga lamented that the Edo police command treated the LP leader like “a common criminal”, adding that he was not issued a formal invitation by the police before his arrest.

He alleged that the allegations against Abure seem to be an attempt to “intimidate and diminish” his person and office.

“From every indication, and based on available facts and information, Comrade Abure, a highly placed, law-abiding Nigerian and leader of millions of Labour Party members spread all over Nigeria, was not issued any formal invitation by the Nigerian Police before the humiliating and dehumanizing arrest,” Edeoga said.

“I note with profound displeasure, the attempt to treat the leader of the Labour Party with such disdain by arresting and treating him like a common criminal.

“It has to be noted that Comrade Abure, like other party leaders participating in the upcoming governorship election in Edo State, had been in the state to prepare grounds for the primary elections to select the party’s governorship candidate for the elections.”

Edeoga also faulted the alleged description of  Abure as a “factional chairman of the Labour Party” by the police command.

“Nigerians should note the deliberate attempt to describe Comrade Julius Abure as a ‘factional Chairman’ of the Labour Party by the Edo State Police Command,” he added.

“This is far from the truth, and the Nigerian Police for which the Edo State Police Command is a part of, is fully aware of the Supreme Court judgement which confirmed him as the National Chairman of our great party.

“The reference to Comrade Abure as a factional Chairman is therefore intentional and must have been deployed to further undermine his office, his person and the political party he leads.”

He said the action of the police might be a sign of bias against the LP by some state institutions ahead of the Edo election.

He, therefore, urged the security agencies to provide a level playing ground for all participants in the interest of peace, justice and fairness.

“As a unit of the Nigerian Government responsible for the prevention and detection of crime and the maintenance of public order, the Nigerian Police should be reminded to treat citizens with dignity, to see every person as equal before the Law, and to accord respect to the leaders of the people, irrespective of whether they are in the ruling party or the opposition,” he said.

He also called on President Bola Tinubu to lead the way in dispelling “the conqueror mindset in many political leaders” by encouraging the formation of all-inclusive governments as a demonstration of sportsmanship in political contests.