[size=18pt]Ibadan boils: 12 buses burnt , 83 others vandalized[/size]
, As Eleweomo, Tokyo loyalists clash

From GBENGA ADESUYI, Ibadan






In what looked like a war situation, Olomi area of Ibadan and its environs were early Wednesday morning thrown into confusion as members loyal to the embattled former chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Alhaji Lateef Salako (Eleweomo) allegedly stormed the secretariat of the union at about 1.30am burning down no fewer than 12 vehicles and vandalizing 83 others.

In the attack which was said to have been led by Alhaji Salako and his deputy, Mukaila Lamidi (a.k.a. Auxiliary), shops and stalls located around the area were also not spared.

Many of the residents were seen counting their losses as they gathered in groups discussing the incident. Also, some of the vitctims, betrayed emotions and broke down in tears over the development which caught many unaware.
Residents of the area said there were sporadic gunshots around 1.30am and 4.30 am, making them to be awake throughout the night with their hearts in their mouths.

Sources said the reinstated chairman of the union, Alhaji Lateef Akinsola (a.k.a. Tokyo) also escaped death by the whiskers in the three-hour attack and had since fled Ibadan to an unknown destination, after the one-storey building office of the union was seriously vandalized. A new sport utility vehicles with Lagos registration number belonging to Alhaji Akinsola(Tokyo) and several other SUVs owned by union leaders were also not spared as matchete cuts were visibly noticed on them.

Daily Sun also noticed that a large number of empty cartridges from the gunshots fired during the attack littered the, scene. An 18-seater bus belonging to Tokyo faction packed at Academy on the Lagos/Ibadan Expressway was also seen burning at about 11:00 am when Daily Sun visited the area.

There were also reported clashes at Iwo Road area as well as other locations in Ibadan, the state capital.
While recounting his experience, Mr Lekan Alesinloye, the Secretary to Tokyo’s faction said they had reliably got information that Eleweomo and others would be attacking them and they had since been keeping vigil at the office complex since last Friday night.

He added that his faction was fully prepared for the attack “but for the cooperation which Eleweomo and his boys received from men of the State Anti Robbery Squad (SARS).” Alesinloye, while addressing journalists, also alleged that Eleweomo, Auxiliary and their group members were backed by the State Police Command, exemplified in deployment of men of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) to aid the attack.

Conducting journalists round the union’s office complex and adjoining streets ,he pointed to the Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) of the State Police Command which he claimed was one of the vehicles the police used in aiding the Eleweomo and his group. Alesinloye whose Mercedes Benz Car was also destroyed in the attack further said , they were alerted to the coming of Eleweomo and his group at about 1.00 a.m but when he mobilized his men to stop them at the Academy area, the large size of Eleweomo and the Police escort that were shooting sporadically made them to flee the area.

He however dismissed any possibility of a reprisal attack but expressed the determinationn of his group to continue to pursue the matter legally irrespective of the intimidation and backing the Eleweomo faction has been receiving from the government and the state police command.

He called on well-meaning citizens of the state to appeal to the new Inspector General of Police (IGP) redeploy the Oyo State Police Commissioner,Alhaji Baba Adisa Bolanta before things finally get out of hand.
He also alleged that the second term bid of Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala had been largely responsible for the backing the Eleweomo faction had been receiving since the crisis rocking the union started, adding that the “do or die politics won’t do the State any good.”

When contacted,the State Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Bolanta dismissed he allegation of his men’s involvement in the fracas, saying that the APC was meant to maintain peace in the area and not to intimidate any faction of the union.
Bolanta added that the command got a distress call that fight had broken out at Olomi and some other areas in Ibadan around 2.00 a.m and his men were quickly drafted to the area to maintain law and order, querying why his men would now be accused of backing any of the camp.

He said some suspects had been arrested in connection with the attack, while also promising that the command would get to the root of the matter and that the newsmen would be informed as investigations progressed.
At as the time of writing this report, the casualty figures could not be immediately ascertained, but unconfirmed sources said scores of people suffered varying degrees of injuries and were said to be receiving treatment in hospitals in the city.


http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/features/newsonthehour/2010/sept/16/newsbreak-16-09-2010-001.htm

Na wa ooo. Lets see how this going to play out through the weekend.

Ibadan again??