Barrister Julius Abure, the National Chairman of the Labour Party, has denounced the recent spike in the number of assassinations of party officials and candidates in Nigeria.
Abure characterized the situation as being both alarming and a serious threat to democracy.
He bemoaned the harassment, assaults, and outright killings that LP members and sympathizers have endured, calling the most recent assassination of Christopher Elehu, a candidate for the party’s House of Assembly in Imo State, “one too many.”
The LP Chairman voiced concern that, while other political parties’ candidates travel with police detachments as aides and escorts, the party’s request for police security has been generally ignored.
In a statement released on Saturday in Abuja, the party’s female leader in Kaduna state, Mrs. Victoria Chimtex, was recently assassinated. Abure expressed sorrow over Elehu’s horrific murder by what are believed to be hired assassins.
He expressed concern that no one had been indicted in court two months after her murder.
The late Elehu ran for the Onuimo Constituency seat in the Imo State House of Assembly on behalf of the Labour Party (LP).
The shooters not only killed him but also burned down his country house and stole his belongings.
Abure said, “The increased attack on Labour Party members and faithful is now alarming. Just a few weeks ago, our women leader in Kaura, Kaduna state was murdered in cold blood with the husband sustaining injuries and still in the hospital.
“About six weeks ago, the senatorial candidate of our party in Ebonyi State was kidnapped after police took the responsibility for his arrest. This was after days of his incarceration, he is now released without any charges.
“The billboards of all our candidates across the country are being pulled down and destroyed. There are a series of attacks on the party members and leaders across the country, and the mother of it all is the murder of this candidate in Imo State.
“We are using this opportunity to call on Mr President, security agencies, especially the Police and DSS to protect Labour Party, its leaders and members.
“Election is not a do-or-die matter. The government must ensure that a level playing field must be created for all political parties, both those in power and those not in power. Chief Obafemi Awolowo of the blessed memory, once said the opposition is the soul of democracy.
“If there is no opposition then, of course, there is no democracy. Therefore government in power must not only protect those in government but also opposition party members.
“As of today, a lot of our candidates have no police protection, even me as the National Chairman, all my application to have police that was approved, yet none has been drafted to me.
“As the Chairman of one of the most popular political parties, I still do not have security assigned to me. Our officers are exposed, our members are exposed and with the high level of insecurity now, we have become very vulnerable.
“So we are calling on the President to use his good office as well as security agencies to secure Labour Party, all its candidates, party members and supporters so that we can have a hitch-free election.”
He continued, “This is important because, with the series of attacks on the Labour Party members, it shows that there might never be a hitch-free election. It is a serious threat to democracy.
“Democracy offers the citizens the opportunity to make choices and vote for candidates of their choice, so when they are been harassed, their leaders being killed, viable contestants being killed, including their supporters, it means that democracy is under threat.
“Those in government swore to uphold the constitution, I, therefore, call on those in government to provide security across, so that our democracy will not be in jeopardy. It would not be in the interest of anyone, particularly those who will be in government tomorrow to allow democracy to be threatened.”