Heavy crowd of protesters on Wednesday besieged the Zone 5 headquarters of the Police Command in Benin City over the arrest of the National Chairman of the Labour Party, Barrister Julius Abure and the Edo State Chairman Kelly Ogbaloi by a combined team of the police and officers of the Department of State Security (DSS) two days to the party’s governorship primary election.
The Deputy National Chairman of the Party, Dr. Ayo Olurunfemi in video post said that no form of intimidation from the highest quarters can stop the party from concluding the process leading to the emergence of the Labour Party government in the state.
He said, “Here in Edo where we were preparing for our gubernatorial primary, the DSS in combination with the Nigerian Police, were mobilized from Abuja to come and arrest our chairman. We are not going to allow it to go like this because Nigerians are hungry.
“We are hungry and anything we needed to do to reposition Nigeria, and take them out of this hunger, we must continue to pursue it.
“We are preparing for an election in Edo and it is obvious and they know that Labour party controls Edo and what they can do is what they are doing now and ensuring that Labour party does not form government in Edo state. Whether they like it or not, Edo is Labour, Labour is Edo and we are taking Edo whether they like it or not”.
Earlier in a statement, National Publicity Secretary of the party, Obiora Ifoh reported that The Labour Party on Tuesday had a very successful delegate election in Benin ahead of the party’s primaries scheduled to hold on Friday.
“The party chairman only this morning along with party governorship aspirants also kept a scheduled security briefing with the Department of the State Security. Abure was however arrested after the meeting by a combined team of DSS and Police officers. Abure, Ogbaloi and their aides were also manhandled.
“Effort by some party leaders to have access to the Zone 5 headquarters was turned down due to the huge crowd of party supporters who were expressing their displeasure over the arrest of Abure.
“However, a Police source informed the party officials and other governorship aspirants at the gate of the police headquarters that the arrest was in connection to a protest letter by one of the expelled member of the party loyal to Apapa dissident camp.
“The source also confirmed that the arrest was not unconnected to the ongoing party primary and the possible candidate that will emerge which the state government is vehemently opposed to” he said.
According to Ifoh, the arrest was to frustrate the primary process and possibly interrupt the party’s participation in the governorship election.
