The Nigeria Police Force has confirmed the arrest of the Labour Party’s National Chairman, Julius Abure, along with four others.
Tijani Momoh, the spokesperson for the Nigeria Police Force, Zone 5, covering Edo and Delta states, said Abure and the others were arrested for attempted murder, illegal possession of firearms, and other related offences.
Crimewatchnewspaper earlier reported the arrest of Abure on Wednesday in Benin City, the Edo State capital.
A viral video showing how Abure was arrested by some armed police officers emerged on the internet Wednesday afternoon.
Crimewatchnewspaper learnt that a petition written by the LP Youth Leader, Comrade Eragbe Anselm Aphimia had accused Abure of committing violent acts against him.
Also, the suspended National Treasurer of the Labour Party, Mrs Oluchi Opara, had insisted that Abure must submit the party’s finances to a forensic audit and explain the source of funds used by him to acquire properties in Nigeria and overseas between 2022 and 2023.
But speaking to journalists on Wednesday, Momoh said the “arrest of the factional chairman of the Labour Party, Julius Abure and four others” has to do with a “written petition that was endorsed by the AIG Zone 5 from the office of the Inspector General of Police”.
He said that the suspects were arrested for attempted murder and that video clips and recordings show how the petitioner was being “assaulted, being beaten when he came home last year to conduct ward matters”.
“It is a case of attempted murder, conspiracy, illegal possession of arms and other related offences,” he said.
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According to Momoh, Abure and the other suspects were also in “possession of firearms; a shotgun and three rounds of ammunition”.
He added that the investigation into the matter was still ongoing.
Anselm Aphimia’s petition addressed to the Edo State Police Commissioner of Police, alleged that a “heinous act of violence” was perpetrated against him on December 29, 2023.
He said, “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 2 p.m. as part of an official 5-member delegation authorised by the Acting National Chairman of the Labour Party, Alhaji Lamidi Basiru Apapa.
Our 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.”
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