The leadership crisis within the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) took another dramatic turn as Musiliu Akinsanya, popularly known as MC Oluomo, on Tuesday re-took possession of the union’s National Secretariat in Abuja and began assessing damages to its property.
The latest development comes barely 24 hours after a rival faction led by Tajudeen Baruwa forcefully occupied the same facility, citing court rulings affirming his leadership of the union.
Baruwa, who had addressed journalists at the secretariat on Monday, maintained that his takeover was backed by legal authority.
He stated that his faction had notified the Nigerian Police and submitted copies of court judgments to support the move.
READ ALSO: Police Charge Baruwa, Six Others To Court Over NURTW Secretariat Violence
According to him, the action was in line with due process.
Read Also
“Our actions were backed by two court judgments delivered in our favour,” he said, insisting that the occupation of the secretariat followed lawful procedures.
However, the situation quickly escalated after the Federal Capital Territory Police (FCT) Command intervened, arresting Baruwa and several of his associates over what it described as an unlawful enforcement of a court order.
In a statement issued by the Command’s spokesperson, Josephine Adeh, the police said the group attempted to enforce the judgment without the presence of court officials.
The statement noted that the suspects were “attempting to enforce a court order on the premises without the presence of court sheriffs and other officials.”
Those arrested include Ibikunle Baruwa, Sulaiman Musa, Nasiru Ibrahim, Alhaji Sadisu Musa, Dalha Suleiman, Abdullahi Garba, and Saheed Fojebi.
Amid the tension, the police also dismissed viral claims that officers opened fire on NURTW members at the Garki secretariat, describing the reports as “false and misleading.”
