CITIZENS COMPASS —The National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP), Mr Julius Abure, has regained his freedom from Police custody.
He was released on bail at about 2 a.m., yesterday after about 12 hours in police custody.
He was arrested alongside the Edo State chairman of the party, Kelly Ogbaloi and some other members of the executive in Benin City, Edo State on Wednesday.
This came as the party’s Presidential candidate in the February 25, 2023, poll, Mr Peter Obi, condemned what he described as the discourteous manner in which security operatives arrested Abure in Benin City.
Obi said the arrest could have been better handled to show we are civilised and in a democracy.
Also, the LP Caucus in the House of Representatives has queried the timing and intentions of the recent arrest of Abure, describing it as cruel, dehumanising and an abuse of democratic ethos.
Meanwhile, a governorship aspirant in Edo State, Mr. Olumide Akpata, has denied the allegation that he was behind the arrest of Abure.
In a video released early, yesterday, Abure said the reasons for his arrest would not be disclosed since it was still being investigated by the police but he accused the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, of deliberately causing a crisis in LP.
He said: “After the general election, they have been trying to instigate a crisis in the party, they tried to bring false accusations against us. They have 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 will go and instigate them to write a petition against us. And the irony is that the police even act on those and at the end of the day, they discover that those things are false.
“On Wednesday, we were making arrangements for the Edo State governorship primaries and of course, the police swooped on us and arrested us over what I will not want to discuss now because investigation is still going on and therefore, we would not want to pre-empt 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.”
On his part, Obi said: “Like many Nigerians, I observed the distasteful national television news reports detailing the humiliating arrest of Abure.
“Throughout my roles as a private individual, public figure, governor, and Presidential candidate, I consistently advocated the paramount importance of upholding the rule of law in any sane society.
“I firmly believe that, as citizens, we are all duty-bound irrespective of our status in society to respond to invitations from properly constituted authority.
“My stance on this matter remains unwavering but does not explain watching the distressing image of our National Chairman lying on the ground in the name of arrest.
“This act is undesirable and unequivocally intolerable and must be condemned by any decent and civilised mind within the context of our present civic landscape in Nigeria.
“These deplorable actions epitomise the pinnacle of rascality and serve to egregiously tarnish the already delicate perception of our nation as one plagued by lawlessness.
“Such behaviour must be not only denounced but also actively addressed to uphold the principles of justice and respect within our society.
“Regarding the circumstances surrounding Mr. Abure’s arrest, it is crucial to emphasize that while constitutional authorities must be allowed to execute their statutory functions, officers must adhere to due process and established arrest procedures, embody civility, decorum, respect for the dignity and rights of citizens, and and above all, the presumption of innocence.
—Vanguard
