The court-recognised President of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Tajudeen Ibikunle Baruwa, and six others loyal to him have been arrested by operatives of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Police Command.
The spokesperson of the command, SP Josephine Adeh, explained in a statement issued on Monday that the command received a distress call reporting that about 300 individuals, armed with cutlasses, bottles, bows, and arrows, had stormed the NURTW headquarters along Sapele Street, Garki II, Abuja.
She said the information indicated that the armed men were removing items from the NURTW premises, triggering violence as another factional leader resisted the attempt to take over the facility.
The FCT Police Public Relations Officer said that in a swift response, the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of Operations, DCP Isyaku Sharu, led a response team to the scene.
According to her, upon arrival, it was learnt that Baruwa and his group “were attempting to enforce a court order on the premises without the presence of court sheriffs and other officials.
“This action degenerated into a physical confrontation when other members of the NURTW attempted to resist them, which led to one victim being inflicted with severe machete wounds to the neck.
“He was rescued by the police team, while several others who sustained varying degrees of injuries were rushed to a nearby hospital for medical treatment.”
The suspects arrested include Sulaiman A. Musa, Nasir Ibrahim, Alhaji Sadisu Musa, Dalha Suleiman, Abdullahi Garba, Rasheed Fojebi, and Ibikunle T. Baruwa.
The police said all the suspects have been “charged to Magistrate Court 1, Wuse Zone 2, while normalcy has since been restored to the area.”
Josephine Adeh also debunked videos circulating on social media alleging that personnel of the command shot at some NURTW members.
She said the claims are false and misleading, stressing that they were aimed at rousing public sentiment.
Police arrest Baruwa, reveal how over 300 armed men stormed NURTW secretariat
