Five persons, including the Lagos State Chairman of the Tricycle Owners and Operators Association of Nigeria (TOOAN), Alhaji Azeez Abiola, popularly known as Histijabah, have been arrested by the police in Lagos State as crisis hits the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in the state.
Alhaji Abiola and others, namely Yusuf Azeez, Kazeem Akinbode, Taofiq Odewale and Moses Abiodun were arrested by the operatives of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) who were deployed to Agege and Abule Egba areas of the state.
According to the police: “They were arrested in Agege while leading a team of supporters to NURTW headquarters in Agege, an action which the authority believed would trigger violence and chaos in other parts of the metropolis.
“While police arrested Azeez Abiola and four other suspects, a pump-action gun was recovered from the area where some of his supporters who fled to evade arrest were standing.”
Tribune Online gathered that the crisis was as a result of a disagreement between the national body of the union in Abuja led by Alhaji Tajudeen Baruwa and the Lagos State council led by Alhaji Musiliu Akinsanya, popularly known as “MC Oluomo” over the choice of the state chairman for the tricycle union which is affiliated to NURTW
It was further gathered that the national body of the union had on Wednesday appointed Alhaji Azeez Abiola as the state chairman of the tricycle union, a move which MC Oluomo reportedly kicked against.
It was gathered that the new tricycle union boss was expected to resume at the Abule Egba office of the union on Thursday when armed hoodlums were seen loitering around the state sectetariat.
A top member of the union, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, said “the leadership of NURTW is just trying to stop MC Oluomo from being the NURTW chairman in Lagos and at the same time acting as the tricycle union chairman.”
The member said “Tricycle Owners and Operators Association of Nigeria (TOOAN) is affiliated to NURTW in Abuja and we have a separate chairman from the NURTW chairman in Lagos State but we are still under NURTW.
“Immediately MC Oluomo took over as the NURTW chairman in Lagos, he removed the then chairman, Alhaji Murtala Lawal, who was about six months in office at that time.”
He also added that “Instead of appointing a new chairman, he divided the state into different zones and appointed zonal chairmen, who all report to him. There is no state chairman for TOOAN since then.”
The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Alabi, has directed CSP Olayinka Egbeyemi to transfer the suspects and the exhibit to the state command for further investigations.
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