The Labour Party’s presidential candidate for 2023, Mr. Peter Obi, has voiced his displeasure with the way Nigeria Police personnel handled Mr. Julius Abure, the national chairman of the party,’s arrest on Wednesday.
To “show we are… in a democracy,” Obi claimed in a statement posted on his X account platform that the party chieftain’s arrest should have been handled professionally.
“Like many Nigerians, I watched the vile national television news reports describing the humiliating arrest of Barrister Julius Abure, the National Chairman of the Labour Party, in Benin City, Edo,” he stated.
“Throughout my roles as a private individual, public figure, Governor, and Presidential candidate, I consistently advocated for the paramount importance of upholding the rule of law in any sane society.
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“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 civilized mind within the context of our present civic landscape in Nigeria.”
The arrest was conducted in a disgusting manner, according to Obi, who also stated that in order to preserve the values of justice and decency in our society, such an arrest practice needs to be openly addressed as well as condemned.
“Regarding the circumstances surrounding Mr Abure’s arrest, it is crucial to emphasise that while constitutional authorities must be allowed to execute their statutory functions, officers must adhere to due process and established arrest procedures.
“The officers must embody civility, decorum, respect for the dignity and rights of citizens, and, above all, the presumption of innocence.
“It is crucial to emphasise that as a leader within the Labour Party, Mr Abure represents, both personally and statutorily, as the incumbent Chairman of the LP, the face of political opposition in Nigeria,” Obi said.
However, Abure and a few members of the LP party who were detained by the police on Wednesday in Benin City, the capital of Edo, have been freed.
Additionally, following the arrest, Abure was detained on a petition in connection with a case involving attempted murder and conspiracy to do dangerous harm, according to Tijani Momoh, the spokeswoman for the Zone 5 Police Headquarters in Benin City.
Momoh had stated that the police had not attacked the LP nationa on Wednesday when briefing reporters.
