A significant protest unfolded on Wednesday outside the Zone 5 headquarters of the Police Command in Benin City, as demonstrators voiced their outrage over the arrest of Barrister Julius Abure, the National Chairman of the Labour Party, and Kelly Ogbaloi, the state chairman of the party.
The arrest came hot on the heels of a successful delegate election held by the Labour Party in Benin, preceding the Party Primaries scheduled for Friday. Abure, alongside gubernatorial aspirants of the party, had earlier attended a security briefing with the Department of State Security on Wednesday morning. However, following the meeting, Abure was detained by a joint team comprising officers from the DSS and the Police, with reports emerging that Abure, Ogbaloi, and their aides were subjected to mistreatment.
Attempts by party leaders to gain access to the Zone 5 headquarters were rebuffed due to the large gathering of party supporters expressing their discontent over the arrests.
According to a police source, the arrests are linked to a protest letter submitted by a former party member associated with the Apapa dissident camp, who had been expelled from the party. Additionally, the source confirmed suspicions that the arrests were connected to the ongoing party primaries and the potential candidate selection process, which has encountered opposition from the state government. It is believed that the arrests were orchestrated to disrupt the primary process and potentially impede the party’s participation in the forthcoming gubernatorial election.
Reacting to the situation, Dr. Ayo Olurunfemi, the Deputy National Chairman of the Labour Party, asserted that no amount of intimidation, even from the highest echelons of power, would deter the party from completing the process leading to the emergence of a Labour Party government in the state.
The unfolding events in Benin City mark a tense and politically charged atmosphere as the Labour Party grapples with the fallout from the arrests amidst its internal processes and the looming gubernatorial election.
