Police asked to remove Abure from Labour Party national secretariat

The Nigeria Police Force has been asked to remove Julius Abure from the Labour Party national secretariat following the recent judgment of Supreme Court which sacked him from the office.

Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) made the call in a statement signed by its national coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, on Friday,

The right group said it is the constitutional role of the police to remove Abure from the Labour Party national secretariat and enforcing the Supreme Court’s decision.

“It is a matter of honour and law,” HURIWA stated. “If the Nigeria Police truly operates under the law and the 1999 Constitution, as amended, and the Police Act of 2020, then the enforcement of the Supreme Court judgment should be non-negotiable.”

HURIWA emphasized that the police should not act like “a boys’ brigade of the ruling APC,” and must immediately enforce the legal rights of the lawfully recognized Labour Party leadership, which is the Interim National Committee led by former Minister of Finance, Senator Nenadi Usman, adding that the legitimate leaders should be given unfettered access to the party structure.

The group expressed deep concerns over what it described as Abure’s brazen defiance of the apex court’s ruling, and his actions to destabilize the Labour Party—one of Nigeria’s few credible opposition platforms.

The civil rights advocacy group stated that Nigeria’s democracy cannot thrive under a one-party system, and emphasized that constructive opposition, as represented by the Labour Party, must be safeguarded.

It warned that Abure’s persistent claim to the Labour Party leadership, in spite of the Supreme Court’s decision, is a direct threat to the rule of law, democracy, and institutional integrity.

According to HURIWA, the Supreme Court’s judgment was explicit in its dismissal of Abure’s cross appeal seeking judicial validation of his claim to the national chairmanship.

“Rather than honourably stepping down in compliance with the judicial pronouncement, Abure has allegedly continued to hold on to power, while sowing confusion and divisions within the Labour Party,’ it said.

HURIWA emphasized that such reckless disregard for the highest court of the land constitutes contempt of court and undermines the foundational principle of separation of powers in a constitutional democracy.

The group drew attention to the comments of Dr. Monday Onyekachi Ubani, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, who recently lamented the growing trend of political parties misinterpreting Supreme Court judgments for selfish gains.

HURIWA emphasized that the police should not act like “a boys’ brigade of the ruling APC,” and must immediately enforce the legal rights of the lawfully recognized Labour Party leadership, which is the Interim National Committee led by former Minister of Finance, Senator Nenadi Usman. The rights group insisted that the legitimate leaders should be given unfettered access to the party structure.

Furthermore, HURIWA called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to stop acting in cowardice and assert its statutory supervisory role over political parties as enshrined in the Electoral Act.

The group criticized INEC for enabling the confusion within the Labour Party through inaction and called for urgent intervention to prevent chaos from overtaking the internal workings of political parties in Nigeria.

HURIWA also called on the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), the original institutional promoter and founding stakeholder of the Labour Party, to rise up and reclaim its rightful oversight and leadership role within the party.

“The NLC owns a significant stake—up to 50 percent—in the Labour Party. It must not remain silent in the face of this lawlessness. If there are plans by the NLC to take back the party and reassert control grounded in the rule of law, HURIWA stands firmly in support,” the statement read.