Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 elections, has reacted to the arrest of Julius Abure, national chairman of the party.
Abure was arrested on Wednesday in Benin City alongside Kelly Ogbaloi, the LP chairman in Edo state.
The police said Abure was arrested over a petition accusing him of attempted murder and conspiracy to commit dangerous harm.
The LP chairman has since been released.
Reacting, Obi in a post on his official X page, described Abure’s arrest as “demeaning and distressing”.
“Like many Nigerians, I observed the distasteful national television news reports detailing the humiliating arrest of the National Chairman of the Labour Party, Barrister Julius Abure, earlier today in Benin City, Edo state,” he said.
“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.
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“This act is undesirable, demeaning and unequivocally intolerable and must be condemned by any decent and civilized mind within the context of our present civic landscape in Nigeria.
“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, civility, decency and established arrest procedures, embody civility, decorum, respect for the dignity and rights of citizens, and, above all, the presumption of innocence before the law.
“It is crucial to emphasize 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.
“Most importantly, political Parties are institutions of democratic statehood and ought to that extent be accorded due respect.”