NURTW Leader Shoots Aide, Stabs Another

Hell was let loose on Monday, June 16, 2014 when a chieftain of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) allegedly aimed his short gun at two of his aides and pulled the trigger.

It is not showing on movie magic, but happening live as people would say, at Adaranijo Street, in Egbeda area of Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos State. The newspaper learnt that the union chairman identified simply as Mr. Sufi, otherwise known as Dakeja, the Branch C chairman of the union, threw caution to the winds and allegedly pulled the trigger as two of his aides dared to challenge him over the running of the union affairs in a motor park at Egbeda.

It was learnt that long before that fateful day, the said Sufi had indicated interest in running for a higher office in the union. However, while he was making moves to actualize his ambition, his Secretary, one Mr. Kabiru Abiodun, who sources say had always pointed out his boss follies, reminded Sufi that his dream would not see the light of day.

According to sources, Abiodun had pointed out that the finances of the union under Sufi’s supervision needed explanation, saying that the situation should be enough to worry his boss than aspiring to a higher office.

The source said Abiodun’s guts got on the bad side of Sufi, who it was said had expressed reservations over Abiodun’s straight-talking nature in the past. On this fateful Monday, another union member identified as Mutiu Jimoh, was also said to have urged the chairman to drop his ambition and focus on his current assignment. The newspaper gathered that the icy reception given to his ambition by his aides infuriated Sufi, who ordered that they be disciplined for insubordination.

It was said that the ensuing argument over who is right or wrong between Sufi and his aides and the execution of the disciplinary directive pitched members of the union against one another.

It was further gathered that the refusal of the aides to obey the chairman’s order further irked some members of the union, leading to a free for all. In the process, it was learnt, Sufi allegedly dashed into his office and returned with a short gun. Perhaps, everyone had taken it all for a joke when a reportedly angry Sufi repeatedly threatened to shoot his aides until he pulled the trigger.

Sufi, the newsmen learnt, allegedly shot Abiodun in the hand and neck. According to sources, but for divine intervention, Abiodun would have been dead. Sufi seemingly bent on teaching his aides a lesson the hard way, did not stop there.

He also reportedly took a beer bottle, broke it and stabbed Jimoh, who was standing next to Abiodun, injuring him severely. The two men were immediately rushed to the National Orthopedic Hospital, Igbobi, in Lagos where they are currently receiving medical attention. The newspaper learnt that some members of the union who were sympathetic to the two aides had reportedly wanted to fight Sufi, but were restrained by the timely intervention of a detachment of policemen from the Area ‘M,’ who cordoned off the area.

When the newsmen visited Adaranijo Street on Wednesday to speak with one Mr. Sikiru alias Oyiwo, said to be a branch chairman of the union, he was said to be unavailable. However, a member identified as Omo Alhaja, described the feud as a family affair. Said he: “It’s a family affair. We do not need external interference. Our senior bosses at the state level will sort the issues out amicably.”

In an interview, a trader in the area who identified himself as Mr. Adekunle told the newspaper that he fled the area during the clash. “It all started on Monday. We heard that they were fighting over the control of a motor park on one hand, and the lack of accountability on the part of the chairman on the other.

How and why it worsened to the use of gun is what many of us cannot explain,” he said. A landlady in the area, Mrs. Romoke Adetunji also explained that residents of the area had long been at the mercy of the union members in the area had this to say: “Even before this recent violence broke out; they had always been using some shops as hideouts. They lurk around the shops, drink and smoke till daybreak. Most residents cannot walk on our streets for fear of molestation by the hoodlums,” she said.

In a telephone interview, the Lagos State chairman of the NURTW, Tajudeen Agbede denied that union leadership tussle was at the centre of the crisis.

Agbede, instead, blamed it on a recent carnival in the area, describing his members as lawabiding. According to him, some of the crisis in the area was caused by people who though are unregistered with the union; still want to use its name to perpetrate crimes. When the newspaper contacted the Lagos State Police spokesperson, Ngozi Braide for comments, her mobile phones were switched off.