The National Publicity Secretary of the Labour Party, Abayomi Arabambi, has dismissed the recent call by the Nigeria Labour Congress for the probe of the party’s National Chairman, Julius Abure, and other officials over allegations of forgery, describing it as a futile political manoeuvre.
In a statement on Tuesday, Arabambi argued that the allegations had already been addressed by a March 2023 judgment of the Court of Appeal in Abuja, along with forensic and police investigative reports, which cleared Abure of any wrongdoing.
His reaction came in response to a demand by the NLC Political Commission Chairman, Prof. Theophilus Ndubuaku, and the Chairman of Nigerian Corruption Watch, Dandy Rowland, who had called for Abure’s prosecution on charges of perjury, forgery, and criminal conspiracy. The call was further echoed by the Senator Nanedi Usman-led Labour Party Caretaker Committee, which decried what it described as an unjustifiable delay in prosecuting Abure and some national officers of the party.
However, Arabambi dismissed these demands as a calculated attempt to tarnish the reputation of Abure and the party’s National Secretary, Alhaji Farouk Umar Ibrahim.
“The forensic report and the police investigative report clearly stated that there was no forgery. The case file forwarded to the Attorney General of the Federation was returned to the police on the grounds that the forensic report exonerated all four accused persons,” Arabambi stated.
He further referenced the Court of Appeal ruling delivered on March 6, 2023, by Justices Hamma Akawu Barka, Adebukola Banjoko, and Peter Chudi Obiorah in suit No. CA/ABJ//CV/559/2023, which set aside all allegations of forgery, perjury, and conspiracy. He emphasised that only the Supreme Court has the authority to overturn this judgment.
Arabambi maintained that the Inspector General of Police could not be blamed for refusing to prosecute Abure, as the appellate court’s decision had legally barred any further action on the matter.
He also criticised Ndubuaku and NLC President Joe Ajaero, accusing them of using intimidation tactics to undermine the Labour Party leadership.
“At this point, Ndubuaku and his master, Joe Ajaero, must understand that Abure, Ibrahim, and Clement Ojukwu have no case to answer. It is laughable that someone is issuing ultimatums to the Attorney General of the Federation over a case already settled by the Court of Appeal,” he said.
Arabambi insisted that continued efforts to discredit the party leadership through what he described as baseless allegations would not be tolerated.