The Labour Party has issued a stern rebuke against a faction led by Senator Nenadi Usman, threatening to petition the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) over what it describes as an attempt to “blackmail” the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and “bring the court to public opprobrium and ridicule.”
This comes in response to a statement from the Usman faction, which had demanded the arrest of INEC’s Acting Chairman, Mrs. May Agbamuche-Mbu, for “criminally colluding” with the party’s Chairman, Barrister Julius Abure.
In a strongly-worded counter-statement released on Wednesday and signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, the Labour Party leadership disowned Senator Usman, stating she is “not a member of the Party.” The party characterised the initial press release from Usman’s media aide, Ken Enuma Asogwa—who is also a lawyer—as “political zealotry and abuse of privilege.”
The core of the dispute is a court order from the FCT High Court in Gwagwalada, which INEC cited as its basis for recognising Julius Abure’s leadership. The Usman faction had labelled this order “fabricated and non-existent,” a claim the Labour Party leadership has now fiercely contested.
“We have instructed our Counsel to write Mr. Asogwa… to within the next 72 hours retract the highly offensive and embarrassing statement,” the party stated. The consequence for failure to do so would be a petition to the NBA for “describing a validly issued order of a court as FAKE.”
The party expressed deep dismay that a legal practitioner would make such allegations. “We view his action as an attempt to bring the judiciary to disrepute,” the statement read. “He ought to sufficiently know that lawyers argue their matters in court and not on the social media. Dragging the integrity of the court in the social space, all because of politics is very unfortunate.”
It added, “He is no longer worthy to be a minister in the temple of justice and if he can denigrate His Lordship in a manner he has done, it shows that he ought to face a disciplinary action.”
The Labour Party also defended INEC, asserting that the commission was right to obey the court order. “INEC should not be intimidated because they are doing the right thing by obeying a validly issued court order. We don’t expect anything less than what they are doing,” the statement said.
Directing its criticism at Senator Usman and her associates, including “one Tony Akeni,” the party accused them of resorting to “bullying, blackmailing and intimidation” when situations do not favour them.
“Instead of taking a simple advice by INEC to produce one single ruling or order that explicitly stated that Nenadi Usman is now Labour Party chairman; of course none exists. They have resorted to gerrymandering and dancing naked,” the statement concluded, imploring Usman to “act civil and call her attack dogs to order before it is too late.
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