The crisis rocking the Labour Party deepened on Thursday as the Caretaker Committee Chairman, Senator Nenadi Usman, accused the immediate past National Chairman, Julius Abure, of allegedly breaking into the party’s national secretariat in Abuja with thugs and carting away sensitive documents.

Nenadi described the incident as “the most uncivilised thing” for a former chairman to do, alleging that Abure stormed the secretariat on Tuesday night with some former executive members and security operatives.

Speaking after inspecting the facility alongside other executive members, Nenadi said the premises were vandalised and vital documents removed.

She said: “On Tuesday night, to be specific right up to the wee hours of Wednesday, that was when this thing took place. We were here earlier, had a very beautiful ceremony, went away. We were told that later on, some hoodlums came in, broke into the offices — you have seen the extent of the damage — and carted away documents.

“I came around to discover that some documents were taken away from the office, because on the day we came to take over the office, I saw quite a number of documents, but now they have disappeared. For me to know what they took away, it will take a bit of time, but it’s a very sad thing to happen.”

She condemned what she described as gross disrespect for institutional processes, warning that such actions, if unchecked, would set a dangerous precedent.

“I think every institution must be respected because there must be institutional memory. When you work in an office, a ministry or political party, whatever organisation, every document belongs to that office. When it’s your time to leave, just go and leave the documents behind so that those taking over from you will know what has happened and build on it.

“But for us to see that whenever you are leaving office, you come at night to steal the documents, I think there is something terribly wrong with us,” she stated.

A security guard at the secretariat, Aminu Salusi, alleged that Abure arrived at about 8:30pm on Tuesday with former executive members and officials of the Department of State Services.

“It all happened on Tuesday, around 8:30pm. Abure came with some of his former executive members and was calling out to me to come and open the gate for them. I told them I couldn’t because I was not in possession of the keys. They came in the company of some DSS officials who later gained entry through the fence and started beating me up.

“I tried to run, but they caught up with me and asked for the keys to the offices. I refused to oblige them. They later accosted my colleague and started beating him up too. They pointed a gun at us and threatened to shoot if we didn’t release the keys to them. Later, they went upstairs to the Chairman’s office and broke in with force before they started vandalising it. When they were done, they ordered me to leave immediately, that I should not be seen anywhere near the secretariat.”

The development comes amid a lingering leadership tussle in the party.

A Federal High Court in Abuja had recognised Nenadi as the bona fide Chairman of the Caretaker Committee and, in January 2026, ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to recognise the Usman-led caretaker committee as the lawful leadership of the party.

She had earlier been appointed to head a 29-member caretaker committee at a stakeholders’ meeting in Umuahia, Abia State, in May 2025.

On preparations for the 2027 general elections, Nenadi said the party would commence membership revalidation and registration of new members as part of efforts to rebuild its structure.

She also dismissed concerns over the defection of the party’s former presidential candidate, Peter Obi, to the Action Democratic Congress.

“Peter Obi is just one man. You know, God is great and merciful; He has not endowed only one person with every attribute. No, each and every person you see, God has endowed them in different ways. Even you, only God knows what you would become. So let’s not limit ourselves to anything and claim that it is only one person that can do it.”

Meanwhile, the Acting General Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Benson Upah, said the Congress would support efforts to stabilise the party.

Labour will do its best to help the party maintain stability ahead of the general elections slated for 2027, he said.