Police Arrest 4 NURTW Members With Gun, Ammunition

Four members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Cele/Okota unit, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria, were arrested yesterday following a bloody clash.

The fracas happened near Oba market, off Ejigbo Bus-stop, Lagos.

A double barrel gun, ammunition, charm and cutlasses were found in one of their offices where a search was conducted by policemen attached to Area ‘D’ Command Mushin.

Police sources told P.M.NEWS that the arrested members of NURTW identified as Benbella Sule, Akeem Eleshe, Abolore a.k.a.Sharp Shooter and Nurudeen Aladejobi a.k.a. Apa, have been transferred from Zone ‘D’ Mushin where they made useful confessional statements to the police about the bloody clash to State Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, Ikeja.

Meanwhile, the police at State Criminal Investigation Department, SCID, Panti, Yaba, Lagos, are currently investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of a member of the union, Lekan Igbalaiye alias Randy.

The deceased allegedly slumped and died during a fight over N200 with Benbella, a member of NURTW, at the Cele/Okota branch of the union.

Eye witness account alleged that Randy was hit with a native charm during the fight and he slumped and died.

Family members of the deceased are now accusing the leadership of the union at Cele of complicity and attempting to cover up the heinous crime.

In a petition sent to the Lagos State Police Commissioner, the family accused the NURTW members of burying their son without official police notification and threatening the family if they report the matter to the police.

The petition, signed by Alhaji G.M. Mudashiru, stated that a misunderstanding between Benbella and Randy ensued on 13 August, 2011, which led to a fight and in the process, Benbella allegedly “used a native ring on his hand to hit Randy and Randy slumped and died on the spot.”

Though the senior members of the union rushed him to the hospital, he could not be revived, the petition stated.

The petition further stated that immediately Randy died, the NURTW leaders at Cele allegedly sent for the father of the deceased, offered him some undisclosed amount of money and warned him not to report the matter to the police.

The union’s leaders also allegedly accepted to be responsible for the cost of the burial and thereafter, led a group of union members to bury the corpse at Matori Cemetery same day.

The petition states: “The Lateef Igbalaiye family are presently living in fear as the union members have promised to wipe them out if they dare raise any alarm over the death of their son.”

A senior police officer at the Homicide Section of SCID, Panti, Yaba, confirmed receipt of the petition and said investigation has commenced on the matter.

“We have sent invitation out to all those mentioned in the petition to report here (Homicide section) by 10 a.m. on Friday. If they refuse to turn up, we shall go after them,” the officer said.

—Oluwole Adeboye, Cyriacus Izuekwe & Dedeigbo Ayodeji