–Nenadi Usman-led NWC, NLC accuse Abure of carting away party documents
––Report ex-chair to Police
—“I was beaten at gunpoint,” security guard says
By Johnbosco Agbakwuru
ABUJA –THE crisis in the Labour Party shows no sign of abating as the Nenadi Usman-led Caretaker Committee has accused the former administration under Julius Abure of invading the party’s secretariat and carting away vital documents.
In a brazen act of nocturnal banditry that reeks of political sabotage, the party’s office was stripped bare, leaving the newly affirmed chairman to decry a “very, very sad” assault on institutional sanctity.
On Thursday, the Senator Nenadi Usman-led National Working Committee (NWC), alongside Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) leaders, inspected the vandalized national secretariat.
They called on security agencies to apprehend the perpetrators.
Recall that a Federal High Court in Abuja recently sacked the Julius Abure-led NWC and declared the Senator Nenadi Usman group the authentic executive.
Recognized by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Usman-led Caretaker Committee met at the party’s secretariat on Tuesday morning. But that same night, the office was vandalized and documents allegedly carted away.
Briefing journalists after the inspection, Senator Usman—flanked by NLC representatives and some Board of Trustees members—accused former Chairman Julius Abure of orchestrating the attack.
The security guard on duty, Aminu Salusi, specifically named Abure as leading the invasion. Salusi claimed Abure’s security aide beat him and held him at gunpoint for refusing to open the gate.
Usman’s Account of the Vandalism
Caretaker Committee Chairman Senator Usman told journalists that the party’s documents were intact when the NWC met Tuesday morning but vanished after the nighttime invasion.
She painted a grim picture: emptied cabinets and files gone. “Documents were taken away,” she revealed, her voice heavy with disbelief.
“The whole thing started on Tuesday night, right up to the wee hours of Wednesday, after we came here, held a beautiful ceremony, and left. We were told hoodlums broke into the offices afterward. You’ve seen the extent of the damage—documents were carted away.”
Senator Usman alleged Abure arrived at the party’s Secretariat with security officials, calling it “enforcement of criminality with government backing.”Key Participants in Inspection.
She noted she was not present when the invasion took place but that the security guard was an eyewitness, having been beaten.
“The day we came to take over, I saw quite a number of documents, but now they’ve disappeared. This illegal break-in isn’t just theft; it’s an existential threat to democracy.
“Every institution must be respected. When it’s your time to go, you leave the documents so those who follow can know what happened and build on it. But to come in the night, steal everything, and run away? There’s something terribly wrong with that.”
Nigeria, she warned, must not devolve into a “lawless nation” where outgoing officials loot offices like common bandits.
She said that the party has reported the crime and demands swift justice:
“People should not think you can do this and get away with it.”
She said she was undeterred by the sabotage and even the alleged appeal by the Aburi group in the Court of Appeal, saying she remained unshaken: “We are not shaking,” Senator Usman said.
On efforts to build a formidable party, she said that her roadmap is clear: revitalize membership as the “first building block,” registering old and new members alongside allies like the NLC Political Commission, TUC, and grassroots forces from workers to market traders.
On defectors and the exit of the 2023 presidential candidate of the party, Peter Obi, she said: “The more the merrier—like church. God has endowed each person differently; our potential is huge if we do the right thing from the grassroots.”
Members of the Labour Party NWC and NLC leadership who joined the inspection included Prof. Theophilus Ndubuaku (NLC Deputy National Chairman), Comrade Benson Upah (NLC Acting General Secretary), Salihu Mohammad (LP BoT Secretary), Ismail Bello (LP Deputy Secretary General), Chris Uyot, and Dr. Chibuzo Okereke (LP Head of Secretariat and Director of Administration).
Security Guard’s Eyewitness Account
Narrating the incident, guard Aminu Salusi said the incident happened on Tuesday around 8:30 p.m. when Abure came with some former executives and called him to open the gate.
“I said I couldn’t because I didn’t have the keys. They arrived with DSS officials who climbed the fence, gained entry, and started beating me, ” he claimed.
“I tried to run, but they caught me and demanded the office keys. I refused, so they accosted my colleague and beat him too. They pointed guns at us and threatened to shoot if we didn’t hand over the keys.
“Later, they went upstairs to the chairman’s office, broke in with force, and vandalized it. When done, they ordered me to leave immediately and not be seen near the secretariat again.”
NLC Acting General Secretary Comrade Benson Upah said Labour would do its best to help the party maintain stability ahead of next year’s general elections.
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