The National Chairman of the Labour Party, Julius Abure, has decried the upsurge in the spate of assassinations of its party leaders and candidates across Nigeria.
Abure described the situation as not only worrisome but also a great threat to democracy.
He lamented that members and supporters of the LP had been victims of harassment, assault and outright assassination, describing the latest killing of one of the party’s House of Assembly candidates, Christopher Elehu, in Imo State, as one too many.
The LP Chairman expressed worry that the party’s request for police protection has largely snubbed while candidates of other political parties move about with detachments of policemen as aides and escorts.
In a statement, in Abuja, yesterday, Abure, who expressed sorrow over Elehu‘s gruesome killing by suspected hired killers, recalled the recent killing of the women leader of the party in Kaduna, Mrs. Victoria Chimtex.
He said it was worrisome that two months after her murder, no one had been charged to court.
The late Elehu was the Labour Party (LP) candidate for Onuimo Constituency in Imo State House of Assembly.
Apart from killing him, the gunmen also set his country home ablaze and destroyed his property.
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 their 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 series of attacks on the party members and leaders across the country, and the mother of it all is the murder of this our candidate in Imo State”.
