₦airaland Forum

Night of terror in Ibadan: •20 feared dead in NURTW clash •50 vehicles vandalised; 20 shops razed •25 NURTW members arrested - Police •Govt may proscribe union today

Written by Adebayo Waheed and Dare Adekanmbi Monday, 06 June 2011

NO fewer than 20 people, among them  a pastor, were killed with several others sustaining gunshot injuries in a renewed clash between members of the factions of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in Ibadan, Oyo State, in the early hours of  Sunday.

Also, about 20 shops were razed down while 30 others were looted and vehicles numbering 50 were vandalised by union members during the clash which lasted five hours.

Most of the victims were said to be passengers, who were waiting for night buses at the Total petrol station on the Ibadan-Ife road.

An eyewitness told the Nigerian Tribune that the people were taken unawares by the NURTW members, led by Mr Mukaila Lamidi, also known as Auxiliary, who was said to have gone to reclaim the motor park, which was taken over by members loyal to Alhaji Lateef Akinsola Oluwatoki, also known as Tokyo, last Monday.

It will be recalled that last Monday, a faction of the union, led by Tokyo, had clashed with the other faction at the Iwo road interchange, during which one person was killed and 10 others sustained injuries.

Eyewitnesses disclosed that the hoodlums had arrived at the motor park around 11.45 p.m. and started shooting sporadically at the filling station, during which people were killed and others injured.

It was learnt that 33 people were taken to  the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan and that 14 had been discharged.

A police source told the Nigerian Tribune that causality was more than last Monday’s.

“Where were journalists when the corpses were still on the ground?” a policeman had asked.

When Nigerian Tribune visited the Iwo road interchange during the clash, some of the shops torched were still smouldering.

An official of the state fire service, Mrs Olunike Olayinka, said they received distress call around 9.30 a.m. and by 10.00 a.m., when they arrived, the shops were still burning.

According to her, 20 shops were burnt with property worth millions of naira destroyed in the inferno.

She said that the arrival of fire-fighters halted the spread of the fire to the adjourning shops at the park.

No fewer than 50 mobile policemen with eight patrol vehicles and four Armoured Personnel Carriers were on the ground to restore, law and order.

At the time of filing this report, mobile policemen had taken over the control of the park while both human and vehicular traffics were being checked, as people were being ordered to raise their hands.

When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the Oyo State Police Command, SP Olatunji Ajimuda, who confirmed the clash, said that about 25 members of the union had been arrested in connection with the incident.

Speaking on the number of people allegedly killed, he said he was not aware of the number of those killed but that some people were taken to the UCH.

Meanwhile, state governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, on Sunday, said his administration might reconsider proscribing the state chapter of the NURTW in the interest of peace in the state.

Rochas slashes security vote
From JAMES OJO, Abuja
Monday, June 06, 2011
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Photo: Sun News Publishing

Imo State Government has slashed the annual security vote of N6.5 billion to N2.5billion to make provision for the free education programme of the state.

This was disclosed by the Governor, Rochas Okorocha while speaking during a thanksgiving church service organized in honour of the new administration at the Maria Assumpta Cathedral, Owerri.
The governor commended the Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Owerri, who was the chief celebrant of the service, for standing by the truth always and enjoined him to always assist in guiding the government aright.

Governor Okorocha admitted that his administration would live by the tenets of sacrifice as exhibited by Christ, and would use every accruable fund judiciously for the uplifting of the state, adding that everybody, especially the civil servants must join hands to achieve the tasks ahead.

Earlier, Archbishop Obinna prayed for the success of the new administration and called on it to concentrate on achieving the goals of free education, agriculture, roads rehabilitation, potable water and workers’ welfare.
He enjoined Governor Okorocha to remain focused and upright in the discharge of his duties in order to meet the aspirations of the Imo people who had borne long years of deprivation and hardship in the hands of previous administrations.

The elated prelate stressed that this was the first time the peoples’ votes would count and commended the common man and the army for joining hands to defend the votes, but called on the police to live up to expectation in protecting the interests of the people.

“God has visited his people and redeemed them. The supreme might of God is shown in his supreme mercy. Only God himself can explain what made it possible for this young man to become governor of Imo. Expectations of Imo are beyond imagination. He needs to be pitied. He may not be able to work wonders,” the Archbishop said.

I married Tess Iyi Wigwe (nee Oniga) under native law and custom on 9th April 1978----------------------------------------------------------------At the end of my posting in October 1998, I returned to Nigeria. The family, now well established and settled, remained in London. Between 1998 and 1999 I made regular visits to the family. In November 1999, Mrs Wigwe visited me in Abuja and we travelled to her home town. We had a very serious misunderstanding. We returned to Abuja and she travelled back to London. When she returned to London after two weeks, she informed me that she no longer wished for me to come to London as previously planned to spend the Christmas and New Year holidays. All my efforts to reach her by telephone, fax and mail were unsuccessful. The situation continued until 2002 when on transiting London en route New York for an official assignment in July 2002, I discovered that Mrs Wigwe had brought her male lover, a Nigerian of Yoruba tribe, to live with her and the children in the family house. The children told me how they had bitterly resented her and her lover. But she ignored the children and co-habited with her boyfriend in the family house for close to a year. To all intents and purposes, we were still husband and wife; we were not even officially separated! It was then I knew the reason why I had been barred from visiting the family since 1999. Consequently, and bruising from the humiliation she had bestowed on me and the children in particular, I hastily remarried in December 2002.

Fhemmmy:
Inasmuch as i do agree that investigation is needed, however, nothing should make a man touch the woman, nothing at all . . . even if you wanna defend yourself, do that but still dont beat the woman . . . .