Gunshots In Abuja As NURTW Leadership Crisis Escalates

Chaos erupted in the Garki area of Abuja, the nation’s capital, on Tuesday, as two factions of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) clashed on Sapele Crescent, located off Ladoke Akintola Boulevard in Garki II.

As of the time press, the precise number of casualties, if any, remained unconfirmed.

According to reports, the clash began when supporters of the NURTW President, Prof. Tajudeen Ibikunle Baruwa, marched towards the union’s national headquarters, which is currently occupied by the Lagos Park Management Committee led by Tajudeen Badru Agbede.

“As you may be aware, members of the Lagos Park Management Committee, led by Agbede, forcefully occupied the Secretariat a few weeks ago, displacing the president and other executives.

“Therefore, supporters of the current president mobilized themselves in an effort to forcibly remove Agbede and his group.

“However, they were met by a police blockade which resulted in a violent confrontation. Shots were fired, intensifying the gravity of the crisis,” an eyewitness disclosed to Vanguard.

Baruwa had attempted to seek intervention from both the police and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to address the situation, but his efforts proved unsuccessful.

“We shall henceforth not hesitate to defend our mandate with the last drop of our blood,” Baruwa had earlier vowed, accusing former NURTW leaders of illegally occupying the National Secretariat of the union.

He accused the former union president, Alhaji Najeem Usman Yasin, and Agbede, the former National Vice President, of conducting unauthorized meetings with select past union leaders.

In another development, Baruwa asserted that the police appeared to show favouritism towards the Lagos Park Management Committee.

Consequently, he appealed to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Olukayode Egbetokun and the Director General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Yusuf Magaji Bichi, to step in and mediate in the situation.

He emphasized that only a court with proper jurisdiction can invalidate their mandate and urged disgruntled members to follow the proper legal procedures for resolution. He also cautioned that any deviation from this path could potentially lead to a state of lawlessness.