By Onyeanya Ebere Immaculata
The Labour Party’s leadership crisis worsened on Monday as the Nenadi Usman led National Working Committee called for the arrest and prosecution of former National Chairman, Julius Abure, over an alleged invasion of the party’s national secretariat in Abuja.
Speaking at a press conference, Usman accused Abure and his supporters of storming the secretariat, threatening officials and carting away sensitive items, including laptops, financial documents and registration records.
She also alleged that party billboards bearing her image were destroyed.
“We demand the immediate arrest and prosecution of Julius Abure and others for criminal invasion, contempt of court, impersonation and threats to constitutional democracy,” Usman said.
She claimed the incident lasted over 30 minutes and that videos of the operation were posted on social media.
Usman said the party had petitioned the Inspector General of Police, the Department of State Services and other security agencies to intervene.
However, Abure’s faction dismissed the allegations as false. In a statement signed by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, the faction described Usman’s claims as “fallacious and laughable,” insisting there was no handover of the secretariat.
The faction alleged that individuals scaled the fence on February 10 to remove the party’s billboard and replace it with Usman’s, but maintained that the leadership dispute remains before the appellate courts.