The crisis rocking the Labour Party (LP) took a dramatic turn on Thursday as the faction led by Nenadi Usman called for the arrest of the Acting Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mrs May Agbamuche-Mbu, over alleged criminal collusion with the embattled former national chairman of the party, Julius Abure. The group accused the electoral umpire’s head of working in concert with Abure to manipulate court documents and undermine a Supreme Court judgment that affirmed Usman as the legitimate leader of the Labour Party.
In a statement issued in Abuja, the Usman-led faction alleged that Agbamuche-Mbu had extended an official invitation to Abure for a meeting organised by INEC with leaders of all 18 registered political parties on October 14, 2025. The faction described the action as “a deliberate act of illegality” and claimed it was based on a “fabricated and non-existent court order” purportedly from the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, Gwagwalada. According to the group, efforts to obtain a Certified True Copy (CTC) of the supposed order revealed that no such order exists in the court’s records.
The faction maintained that the Supreme Court judgment delivered on April 4, 2025, had already settled all leadership disputes in the Labour Party, affirming Nenadi Usman as the authentic National Chairman. The statement further accused INEC of ignoring the apex court’s decision and of being “willfully complicit in perpetuating illegality” by recognising Abure, whose tenure, they claimed, was already invalidated by the ruling.
According to the Usman camp, the action of the Acting INEC Chairman amounts to “criminal collusion” and a breach of public trust. The group accused her of acting in bad faith, using her position to confer legitimacy on a faction that has been discredited by the courts. They also alleged that Agbamuche-Mbu’s conduct demonstrated a lack of neutrality expected of an electoral umpire and called for her immediate arrest and prosecution for alleged forgery and abuse of office.
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The statement quoted senior members of the faction as saying that “INEC has no moral or legal justification to engage a party chairman whose position has been nullified by the nation’s highest court.” They further described Agbamuche-Mbu’s actions as a “clear danger to democracy” and insisted that she must be held accountable for allegedly misleading the Commission in its dealings with political parties.
The group also revealed plans to mobilise members and supporters of the Labour Party across the country for what it described as a “peaceful occupation” of INEC Headquarters in Abuja. The protest, they said, would continue until the Commission retracts the invitation to Abure and issues a formal apology to Nigerians for what they termed a gross violation of judicial integrity.
Meanwhile, INEC sources quoted in separate reports maintained that the Commission only acted based on a valid court process presented by Abure’s lawyers. Agbamuche-Mbu reportedly told journalists that INEC was not partisan and that its decisions were guided by existing court rulings. She added that once the Usman faction presents an authentic and subsisting court judgment, the Commission would review its position accordingly.
The Labour Party crisis has dragged on since early 2023, when a series of legal tussles arose over alleged mismanagement and financial impropriety within the party. Several court rulings, including those of the Supreme Court, have attempted to settle the leadership dispute, but both factions have continued to trade accusations, deepening the internal division that threatens to weaken the party’s national appeal.
Political analysts believe the latest development underscores a larger concern about the impartiality of Nigeria’s electoral body and the fragility of internal party democracy. They argue that the allegations of forged court documents and partisan interference within INEC, if proven, could further erode public confidence in the nation’s electoral process ahead of future polls.
As the controversy continues to unfold, observers are watching how the new INEC Chairman, Prof Joash Amupitan, will handle the matter once he assumes office. The Usman-led LP has urged him to sanitise the Commission by removing what it called “elements of destabilisation” linked to Agbamuche-Mbu and her allies. For now, the demand for her arrest remains a bold political move that could reshape both the internal dynamics of the Labour Party and the public perception of INEC’s independence.
