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The Labour Party has broken its silence on the controversial incident at Abuja Airport involving Ms. Precious Oruche, popularly known as Mama Pee, and former Labour Party Chairman Julius Abure.

In a strongly worded statement issued by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Prince Tony Akeni, the party not only clarified its position on the altercation but also announced the launch of a new national civil rights initiative, “Project Yellow Page,” designed to protect activists, journalists, and ordinary citizens across Nigeria.

According to the Labour Party, public understanding of the incident requires revisiting the first video evidence of the encounter on Saturday, September 27, at the Max Air check-in queue in Abuja. The party said that the confrontation began when Ms. Oruche confronted Abure, asking, “Are you not Julius Abure? What are you doing with the Labour Party after you destroyed the party?” Abure, in the footage, was said to have responded with, “How? How can?”

The tension, according to the party, escalated when Abure’s younger brother, John Abure, interjected aggressively with the words, “Are you mad?” prompting a similar retort from Ms. Oruche. “At this point,” the statement stressed, “neither Ms. Oruche nor John Abure had committed any crime under Nigerian law.”

To support its argument, the Labour Party cited existing legal precedents, including Bakare v. Ishola and Ibeanu v. Uba, where the courts ruled that insults uttered in anger, such as calling someone a thief or ex-convict, constitute “vulgar abuse” rather than defamation.

Reinforcing this interpretation, United States–based Nigerian scholar Professor Farooq Kperogi was quoted from his commentary on the Deji Adeyanju–Peter Obi spat last August: “Judges hold that such insults are commonly understood in our national culture as expressions of angered even if not factual claims, similar to what’s known as ‘rhetorical hyperbole’ in U.S. media law.”

The statement further linked the Abuja Airport saga to what it described as a larger pattern of blackmail and character assassination allegedly spearheaded by Abure in partnership with Abayomi Arabambi, whom the party described as “a see-through double agent serving the ruling party.”

It accused Arabambi of repeatedly fabricating “grievous, life-threatening allegations, including coup plotting treason,” against Mr. Peter Obi and other party leaders. The party said that Obi’s silence in the face of such attacks was a testament to his “large-hearted tolerance” and knowledge of Nigeria’s defamation laws.

However, the Labour Party insisted that the true criminality in the incident began not at the Abuja Airport but on board the Max Air flight and later in Benin, where it alleged that Julius and John Abure mobilised a mob of over fifteen youths to physically assault Mama Pee. The party expressed gratitude to Edo State Commissioner of Police, CP Monday Agbonika, for his personal investigation, which prevented what it termed the “unjust detention” of Ms. Oruche.

Describing her as “our daughter in the struggle for a better Nigeria,” the Labour Party saluted Ms. Oruche’s courage. “If only 5% of Nigerian youths have the outstanding courage against bad governance as Mama Pee, Peter Akah, King Dele Farotimi, Femi Falana (SAN) and other shining examples like them, Nigeria would have been free many years ago,” the statement read.

Looking beyond the incident, the Labour Party used the moment to galvanize its supporters and partners ahead of the 2027 elections, warning that the attack on Mama Pee was a “specimen of things to come.” It urged Obidients and coalition partners nationwide to join forces with the party and support a new civil society partnership initiative known as the Nigeria Civil Rights Yellow Page (NCS-YP).

Explaining the project, the statement said the “human rights Yellow Page” would be a comprehensive directory compiling Nigeria’s active human rights, civil rights, environmental rights, women’s rights, children’s advocacy, and internally displaced persons’ rights activists across all states and local government areas. It will serve as a reference tool to quickly mobilize rescue, legal, and general support for activists, journalists, and citizens in danger within Nigeria or abroad.

“With the 2027 general elections approaching, Nigerians are going to need this directory more than the citizens of any other country in the world,” the party declared, emphasizing the proverb: “To be forewarned is to be forearmed.”

The Labour Party’s intervention not only reframes the recent airport confrontation but also positions it as a rallying cry for broader citizen mobilization, rights protection, and the strengthening of Nigeria’s democratic struggle.

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