Labour Party faction loyal to its 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has called for the immediate arrest and prosecution of the Acting Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), May Agbamuche-Mbu, accusing her of engaging in a “criminal collusion” with the party’s former National Chairman, Julius Abure.
The faction, led by Senator Nenadi Usman, alleges that Mrs. Agbamuche Mbu justified the Commission’s recognition of Mr. Abure by relying on a “fabricated and non-existent” court order, an act it describes as a “brazen assault on our democracy” and a “judicial heist.”
In a press statement issued on Wednesday, the faction laid out a timeline of events, beginning with a meeting convened by the INEC Acting Chairman with leaders of registered political parties on Tuesday, 14th October 2025, to which Mr. Julius Abure was “curiously invited.”
The statement claims that barely twenty-four hours later, on 15th October 2025, Mrs. Agbamuche-Mbu attempted to justify this action by citing an alleged order from the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Gwagwalada, which purportedly directed INEC to recognise Mr. Abure.
“In her defence, she stated that INEC was merely obeying a court order, claiming that if the faction led by Senator Nenadi Usman presented a valid judgment in their favour, the Commission would comply accordingly,” the statement read.
However, the faction asserted that its own “independent and painstaking investigation has revealed that no such court order exists.” It confirmed that while a suit was indeed filed by Mr. Abure, a formal request for a Certified True Copy (CTC) of any order from the court in question yielded a “categorical confirmation from the court that no such order was ever granted.”
The statement, which was authorised by Mr. Ken Eluma Asogwa, the Senior Special Adviser (Media) to the Interim National Chairman, Senator Nenadi Usman, challenges Mrs. May Agbamuche-Mbu to “produce the so-called court order that she relied upon to accord recognition to Julius Abure.”
The faction contended that “the truth is that INECโs acting leadership has willfully relied on a fabricated and non-existent order to justify an illegal and politically motivated act.”
It further argued that even if such an order existed, it would be rendered “null and void” by the Supreme Courtโs “unambiguous judgment of 4th April 2025,” which it said “conclusively upheld Senator Nenadi Usmanโs leadership of the Labour Party.”
The language in the statement is unequivocal in its condemnation, stating that the Acting Chair’s actions “smacks of fraud, scant regard for our laws, meddlesomeness, and partisanship for Mrs. May Agbamuche-Mbu to have dragged INEC into this web of political criminal conspiracy to commit this judicial heist.”
Labelling the episode “a new low in the history of INEC,” the statement declared Mrs. Agbamuche-Mbu “a clear danger to Nigeriaโs democracy.” Consequently, the faction is demanding her “immediate arrest and prosecution for complicity in the criminal forgery of a court order and for acting as an accessory after the fact in a crime against the Nigerian people.”
In a move signalling a potential escalation, the statement directed its “supporters nationwide to begin immediate mobilisation for a peaceful occupation of INEC Headquarters until Mrs. Agbamuche-Mbu is arrested and prosecuted, and until INEC fully complies with the binding Supreme Court judgment.”
The faction also issued a warning to the incoming substantive Chairman of INEC, urging him to “urgently address this grave injustice and purge the Commission of the elements of destabilisation led by Mrs. Agbamuche-Mbu and her co-conspirators.”
This dramatic accusation and call for civil action is the latest eruption in a protracted and deeply entrenched leadership crisis within the Labour Party.
The conflict, which has been simmering for years, centres on the legitimate national leadership of the party and has resulted in parallel National Working Committees and multiple legal battles. The faction led by Julius Abure has long claimed control, while a opposing group, bolstered by the support of Peter Obiโs vast following, has challenged his authority. The crisis reached a pivotal moment on 4th April 2025, when the Supreme Court delivered a judgment that the Usman-Obi faction interprets as a conclusive vindication of its leadership. However, the Abure faction has disputed this interpretation, leading to a contentious stalemate.
INEC, as the nation’s electoral umpire, is caught in the middle of this feud, as its recognition of a particular faction has significant implications for the party’s candidacy in future elections and its access to funds.
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