Embattled Labour Party Chairman, Abure Released From Police Custody

Julius Abure, the embattled National Chairman of Labour Party has been granted bail by the Nigerian Police Force.

Abure was arrested on Wednesday in Benin City, the Edo State capital by operatives of Zone 5 Police headquarters, following a petition forwarded to the zone from the office of the Inspector General of Police in Abuja.

In the petition, the Labour Party national youth leader, Comrade Eragbe Anselm accused Abure of using over 60 armed thugs to attack him when he was leading a party activity in Edo State on December 28, 2023.

In the petition cited by newsmen on Wednesday, the party’s national youth leader alleged that he was brutalized and almost killed by the thugs who also stole $75,000 in cash and other properties worth N4.9 million from him and his team.

According to him, he was brutalized for belonging to the camp of the factional acting national chairman of the party, Lamidi Apapa.

It was also gathered that the Labour Party Chairman was released from police custody around 2 am on Thursday. It was noted that the Edo State chairman, Kelly Ogbaloi, and the state youth leader were still being held and would likely be released later today.

After his release, Abure addressed the party’s supporters, saying, “Let me appreciate all of you for the solidarity, for the support and your commitment. No struggle to liberate the country comes easy.

“In many countries of the world where freedom fighters have fought for the emancipation of the people, freedom fighters suffer injustice, suffer prosecution and it is what is happening to me and my other colleagues since after the general election.”

He continued: “After the general election, they have been trying to instigate crises in the party. They try to bring false accusations against us. They talked about forgery against us at a time when it didn’t work. They came with embezzlement.

“Any person that is aggrieved in the party, they go and instigate them to write a petition against us. The irony is that the police even act on those, and at the end of the day, they discover that those things are false.

“Yesterday, we were making arrangements for the Edo State primaries and of course, the police swooped on us and arrested us over what I will not want to discuss now because the investigation is still going on and therefore we would not want to preempt them.

“But I must state clearly that following several interventions, they have graciously released me on bail except for the Edo State Chairman of the party, Kelly Ogbaloi and the youth leader. They (police) have also promised that by the early hours of Thursday, they will release them. We are hoping that they will fulfil their promise and release them.

“Whatever is happening to me will not discourage me from the struggle. We must continue to pursue the cause of the people. We must continue to fight for our people until we liberate them. I have said it, and I will say it again, it is not capturing power that matters. It is what you do with power.

“Today, APC is in power. Life has become more unbearable for the people. Today, the dollar is exchanging for almost N2,000. Fuel today is sold for N700 per litre. There is even scarcity now, and the price is likely going to increase.

“Inflation, even though it is double digit, it is now above 31 per cent, unemployment has increased, and a bag of rice today is sold for N120, 000, and the minimum wage is N30, 000. You can see the paradox. You can see the irony and Nigerians are in for a difficult time.”