On February 21, 2023, an X user (formerly Twitter) tweeted that Julius Abure had been apprehended by the Police. Attached to the tweet is a video and picture allegedly showing the moment he was apprehended.
“BREAKING: In a dramatic turn of events today in Benin, Edo state, the Nigerian Police have apprehended Julius Abure, the national chairman of the Labour Party (LP).
The circumstances leading to his arrest are not clear at this time. However, it is widely believed to be related to the ongoing crisis within the party.
Abure has faced criticism after being accused of misappropriating Party funds totaling more than N3 Billion.”
This development comes a few days after Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in 2023, announced the commencement of the public accounting process for the Obi-Datti campaign funds for the 2023 general election.
Claim I: The video shows the Nigerian Police apprehending Julius Abure
Verification:
The CDD War Room found that the circulated video originated from a Twitter account (@PIDOMNIGERIA). We found that credible media organisations posted the story of the arrest and credited PIDOMNIGERIA. We found that he was released in the wee hours of Wednesday, the same day he was arrested. According to the Police Public Relation Officer (PRO), Zone 5, Edo State, Abure was arrested based on a petition and in connection to attempted murder.
However, there are different versions of the reason and cause of the arrest. Some of them can be found here and here.
We reached out to the Labour Party executives but they declined to comment on the development.
Verdict: TRUE
The CDD War Room can confirm that Julius Abure was arrested in Benin, Edo State. We found that the circulated video was retrieved from the scene of his arrest. However, we could not ascertain the reason for his arrest.
Claim II: Julius Abure is accused of misappropriating party funds totalling N3 billion
Verification:
On February 12, 2024, Oluchi Oparah, the national treasurer of the Labour Party, revealed that the party earned about N3.5 billion from the sales of forms and other fundraising activities for the 2023 general elections in the country. However, the chairman, Julius Abure, has failed to account for the fund, which translates to misappropriation. She said, “With great reluctance and deep concern, I am compelled to publicly address the media regarding the egregious financial mismanagement and corruption that have plagued our beloved party under the leadership of Mr Julius Abure, the current National Chairman………
As national treasurer, I am constrained to come before you and the public today because the internal mechanisms of our party have failed woefully to bring Mr. Abure to account for his brazen abuse of office and misappropriation of party funds.”
In another account, the LP, via its official website, published that the chairman has cleared the air on the allegation raised by the treasurer. Similarly, Abure appeared before the Arise News Channel to explain his side of the story about the misappropriation of N3.5 billion.
He said, “The total summary of the money that entered into the party was N1.3 billion. We also got N700m for the campaign. I want to challenge her to make the records available where she got the sum of N3.5 billion.” Abure further added that he would file a case of defamation against the national treasurer, Oluchi Oparah.
ALL WE KNOW
The LP national treasurer alleged that the party chairman, Julius Abure, received N3.5 billion for the 2023 election and failed to account for the earned funds. She added that the chairman misappropriated the fund, totalling N3.5 billion.
However, the national chairman has revealed that the party earned about N1.3 million and another N700 million, totalling N2 billion. He reiterated that the funds earned were not misappropriated and were duly accounted for.
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