Five persons tagged as “hoodlums” have been arrested at the ongoing national convention of the Labour Party taking place at Grand Seasons Hotel in Nnewi, Anambra State, on Wednesday.

The arrested persons were said to be distributing inciting leaflets critical of the leadership of the party at the venue of the convention.

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After a series of interrogations, the arrested persons were later taken to the police headquarters for questioning.

They were accused of trying to cause a crisis at the ongoing convention.

This is just as journalists were also barred from entering the venue of the convention.

A series of calls and text messages sent to the spokesman for the party, Obiorah Ifoh, urging him to provide journalists with tags that can facilitate their entry into the venue were rebuffed.

A party source said the intention of the criminal elements and their sponsors was to destabilise the convention.

The Labour Party has been experiencing a crisis following a leadership tussle over who will become the national chairman of the party.

A source said the leaders of the party are currently managing every piece of information to avoid stirring unnecessary political tension.

Meanwhile, the presidential candidate of the party during the February 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, was yet to arrive at the venue of the convention as of the time of filing this report.