LP Crisis: ‘Julius Abure Bragging That Nobody Can Prosecute Him Nor His Criminal Accomplices’ – Usman

The Senator Esther Nanedi Usman-led National Caretaker Committee of the Labour Party has insisted on prosecuting Comrade Julius Abure and some of the party’s national officers on allegations of perjury, forgery and criminal conspiracy.

The declaration is the latest twist in the crisis, which has engulfed one of the leading opposition parties in Nigeria.

The fresh move by Usman to prosecute Abure was made known by the Chairman of the Nigerian Corruption Watch, Prince Dandy Rowland, who read the text of a press conference on behalf of the LP caretaker chairman in Abuja on Monday.

The statement accused Abure of boasting that no one can prosecute him as long as his sister remains the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Justice in Abuja.

However, Usman said it was mysterious that Abure and “his cohorts” were still roaming the streets despite a directive by the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to prosecute them.

Usman said, “The Labour Party LP wishes to commend the Commissioner of Police, Legal Prosecution Section, Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) Force Headquarters Abuja, FCT, in the Office of the Inspector General of Police, IGP, who wrote to the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), and Minister of Justice on the 25th October, 2023, forwarding the duplicate case diary after establishing a culpable primary facie case for which the IGP authorized the prosecution of Julius Abure, Umar Farouk Ibrahim, Ojukwu Clement and Edward Nkwegu in the referenced case of perjury, forgery and criminal conspiracy CR: 3100/ X LEG/ FHQ/ ABJ/ VOL.II dated 25th October, 2023.

“It was further revealed from the Certified True Copies (CTC) of the documents obtained as uploaded in the INEC Portal for the Ebonyi State 2023 Gubernatorial elections, that Julius Abure and Umar Farouk Ibrahim forged a court order with which they criminally and illegally removed the name of Oko Eze the validly nominated 2023 Labour Party (LP) Gubernatorial candidate even after the Supreme Court in its judgment held that Oko Eze was the validly nominated 2023 Labour Party Gubernatorial candidate in Ebonyi State.”

Tinubu’s Role

Usman also alleged that the uncertainty about President Bola Tinubu’s administration’s position towards dealing with corruption is contributing to the boldness being displayed by Abure and others like him.

She said the President’s position has raised serious concerns in anti-corruption circles.

The LP National Caretaker Committee added that it has “noted with great bewilderment how the suspects Julius Abure goes about bragging and boosting that as far as his sister remains Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Justice in Abuja, that nobody can prosecute him nor his criminal accomplices.”

Usman’s Committee No Longer Exists

However, when contacted, the National Publicity Secretary of the LP, Obiora Ifoh, said the Caretaker Committee headed by Senator Nanedi Usman no longer exists, and she is therefore not in any position to issue threats and demands.

The party spokesperson accused Usman and others with her of attempting to destabilize the Labour Party.

He added that true members of the party are united under Abure and working towards victory in 2027.

Ifoh said, “As we speak, There is only one Labour Party under the leadership of Comrade Julius Abure. Individuals who want to derail the peace process he has initiated to reconcile members are behind this attempt to draw us back.

“We have news for them: Genuine members of our great party are looking ahead and will not be deterred by the antics of a few who have decided to act out a script to destabilize this party.”