31st May, 2012
The deputy chairman of National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, Odiolowo-Ojuwoye branch, Ilupeju, Lagos State, Southwest Nigeria, Alhaji Sulaiman Aliu, has escaped an assassination attempt on his life by an unidentified four-man gang on a motorcycle.
But his driver, identified as Bode Marcaulay, was not lucky as the suspected assassins who invaded his office at Oshodi on Tuesday at about 9:30 p.m. reportedly shot him several times at close range, thinking it was their target and fled. Bode died on the spot.
Narrating the incident to P.M.NEWS yesterday, Sulaiman said: “I thank the Almighty God for sparing my life in the hands of the armed hoodlums who invaded my office to kill me.
“I had just arrived from Ibadan on the day of the incident, and I told my driver, Bode, who has been working with me for over 10 years to go and wash my car before we go home.
“But as he made to open the vehicle door to drive out, two motorcycles with two occupants each, suddenly came from nowhere and one of them jumped down and shot at my driver several times until he died and they fled. Nothing was taken from my office.
“I knew I was their target, but because it was dark, they could not recognise whether I was the person or not. I don’t have problems with anybody within the branch of our union except a top member who vowed to kill me for standing by the truth.
“We have been at loggerheads since early this year when he attempted to split our motor parks and give part to our secretary. But I told him that the action was illegal because the said secretary cannot get a motor park when a deputy chairman (himself) has not got one. I insisted we must follow due process in whatever we are doing since we are in a democracy.
“When we did not agree, the national headquarters invited us to Abuja for dialogue. They told him to put a stop to his plan.
“After we came back, I started receiving death threats through messages telling me they would kill me if I do not refrain from my hard-line stance. So far, I have received more than 15 of such messages.
“A few minutes after they killed my driver, they still sent a text message to me that even though I was lucky that day, they are still going to kill me.
“I am now appealing to the police, state and national headquarters of our union to act fast and save my life from untimely death in the hands of the armed men.”
—Paul Iyoghojie