Posted by From MOSHOOD ADEBAYO, Abeokuta on
No fewer than five persons were killed in Abeokuta, Ogun State on Tuesday as rival factions of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) clashed.
No fewer than five persons were killed in Abeokuta, Ogun State on Tuesday as rival factions of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) clashed.
Scores of others also got injured, just as vehicles and other valuable property were damaged in the bloody clash, which broke out over the leadership of Kuto motorpark, which had been a subject of dispute.
Two NURTW factions led by Akeem Bodunrin a.k.a Iyeru and Tajudeen Ibikunle a.k.a Baruwa had been battling for the control of the motorpark, with at least six lives lost in previous bloody encounters witnessed this year alone.
The crisis had seemingly defied efforts by the state government and security agencies to ensure a lasting peace.
Only last week, the Ogun State House of Assembly led by the Speaker, Hon. Tunji Egbetokun tried to reconcile the warring factions and ordered status quo to remain.
Tuesday's clash was said to have broken out at about 4.00 a.m, catching one of the factions unaware.
Among the victims of the mayhem was a leader of one of the motorparks in the state, Alhaji Musiliu Asela popularly called ‘Asela' who was said to have been macheted to death after gunshots reportedly could not harm him.
Daily Sun learnt that his assailants dealt him several machete cuts until he slumped and died, just as scores of members of the NURTW were also said to have been severely wounded in the dawn battle.
Before Tuesday, an armoured personnel carrier and other police vehicles were stationed 24 hours at the Kuto market, raising questions of how the violence erupted without the police and other security agencies being able to forestall it.
As the news of the clash spread across the state capital, many shop owners hurriedly locked their stalls, particularly in Sapon, Panseke, Adatan, Omidan, Ita-Oshin as they feared escalation of the mayhem.
Many journalists who attempted to record vandalised vehicles for posterity were attacked by hoodlums with their digital camera and telephone sets either damaged or seized.
Among them is the state correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Mr Fatai Babatunde who escaped death by a whisker.
It was a hectic day for commuters travelling outside or within the state capital as they were stranded for several hours, because commercial drivers who heard about the incident stayed off the roads for fear of being attacked.