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Tajudeen Baruwa, the president of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), and 21 other people have been detained by the police in Abuja on suspicion of criminal conspiracy, culpable homicide, public disturbance, and conduct likely to cause a breach of peace. Three other national officers of the union are also currently being detained.
According to POLITICS NIGERIA, on Tuesday, following the mayhem that gripped the Garki region of the FCT during a violent battle between two NURTW groups on Sapele Crescent, off Ladoke Akintola Boulevard, Garki II, Abuja, at least one person was murdered and numerous others were injured.
Prior to the arrest of 23 male suspects, the FCT Commissioner of Police, Haruna Garba, announced the discovery of three rifles.
After the occurrence,
The accused would be charged in court after the police investigation was over, according to Josephine Adeh, the FCT Police Command spokesperson.
“The NURTW President and 21 other people were detained. They are accused of criminal conspiracy, culpable homicide, causing a public disturbance, and engaging in conduct that is likely to disturb the peace. When the inquiry is over, they’ll be arraigned in court, Adeh said.
In response to the events of Tuesday, CP Garba called a meeting and invited Baruwa on Wednesday. In addition to Baruwa, the competing NURTW section led by Musiliu Akinsanya, also known as MC Oluomo, and Tajudeen Agbede, the previous vice president, also attended this meeting. It should be noted that MC Oluomo previously served as the leader of the now-defunct Lagos Park Management Committee, whose members had taken over the incident.
According to reports, Baruwa accepted the offer in the hopes that the meeting would resolve the current dispute. Instead of a settlement, he and three other NURTW national executives—General Secretary Chukwudi Asogwa, Deputy General Secretary Abdulkadir Musa, and an unnamed officer—were detained and incarcerated.
Members and sympathizers of the Lagos State Park Management Committee, led by Agbede, who are claimed to have violently taken over the NURTW national secretariat in Garki 2 were not detained or arrested during this time.
Remember that Baruwa had frequently raised the alarm and requested support from the Department of State Services and the Nigeria Police Force on an alleged plot by Agbede and MC Oluomo’s group to carry out a violent attack on the secretariat.
Unfortunately, security operatives appeared to feign ignorance of these concerns. Baruwa had also accused the police of colluding with Agbede and Oluomo’s NURTW faction.
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