NURTW ‘thugs’ clash in Ibadan

NURTW ‘thugs’ clash in Ibadan

At least 27 cars and 17 trucks have been vandalised by thugs suspected to be members of the National Union of Road Transport Works (NURTW) in a clash at the Express Quarry Nigeria Limited, Kilometre 15, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Ekefa Village in Ibadan.
The problem started from the collection of N2,500 from drivers for each load of granite by NURTW members.
The truck drivers, it was gathered, wanted to pay once in a day, saying the N2,500 for each load of granites was exploitative.
Guns, cutlasses, broken bottles, granite and clubs were said to have been used freely during the melee.
A truckload of granite, a driver said, costs about N130,000.
The fracas, which reportedly started at 9:15am, left many people injured.
Sources said nobody died though many were injured.
Many of the workers and quarry operators were said to have fled into the bush and the canal near the site.
The pandemonium also caused a gridlock on the expressway. Passengers were said to have fled inside the bush.
The Commissioner of Police, Kola Sodipo, visited the scene of the incident yesterday.
He urged the stakeholders to maintain peace, saying the police had started working and justice would be served.
At the site yesterday, the Divisional Officer (DPO), Toll Gate Divisional Headquarters, Ibadan, Olufemi Awoyale, anti-riot policemen, two armoured personnel carriers, six hilux vehicles and one Black Maria were sighted.
The incident, it was gathered, had triggered a protest from members of the Oluyole Ibadan Granites Sellers and Hauler Association, truck owners and drivers, who demanded that they did not want NURTW office at the quarry any longer.
Some NURTW executive members placated the protesters with a promise that a delegation would visit the quarry to resolve the matter.
It was gathered that Awoyale invited five representatives of the warring factions for a meeting. The meeting was reportedly in progress when the hoodlums stormed the quarry.
Policemen from Toll Gate were said to have responded swiftly and shot into the air to scare the troublemakers.
When the matter got out of hand, the policemen called for reinforcement. The arrival of the mobile policemen was said to have restored peace to the quarry.
A source said: said: “Two customers who came to pay for granites were attacked.They had not paid before the problem broke out. The thugs collected their money.
“The issue is that we don’t want NURTW office in this place again. This is an office and we have our associations here, which are subsidiaries of NURTW.
“The association will control its members and we will collect levies and remit the statutory ones to the NURTW state secretariat.”