By Peter Omopo
The leadership crisis within the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) escalated on Tuesday as Musiliu Akinsanya, popularly known as MC Oluomo, reoccupied the union’s National Secretariat in Abuja and began assessing damages to the facility.
The development comes barely 24 hours after a rival faction led by Tajudeen Baruwa took over the same secretariat, citing court rulings affirming his leadership of the union.
Baruwa had earlier told journalists that his faction’s action was backed by legal authority, insisting that they had duly notified the police and submitted copies of court judgments to support their move. He maintained that the takeover was carried out in line with due process.
However, the situation took a different turn following the intervention of the Federal Capital Territory Police Command, which arrested Baruwa and several of his associates. The police described the action as an unlawful enforcement of a court order.
In a statement, the Command’s spokesperson, Josephine Adeh, said the group attempted to enforce the judgment without the presence of court officials, which is required by law.
Those arrested include Ibikunle Baruwa, Sulaiman Musa, Nasiru Ibrahim, Alhaji Sadisu Musa, Dalha Suleiman, Abdullahi Garba, and Saheed Fojebi.
Amid rising tensions, the police also dismissed reports circulating on social media that officers opened fire on NURTW members at the Garki secretariat, describing the claims as false and misleading.
The latest development underscores the deepening leadership dispute within the union, which has persisted despite multiple court rulings and police intervention.
