26th February, 2015
The Chairman of the Lagos State Council of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Alhaji Tajudeen Agbede, has assured residents of the state that his executive will do everything possible to unravel the cause of incessant violent clashes in Oshodi area of the state.
Agbede gave this assurance while inaugurating a seven-man committee to look into the immediate and remote causes of fracas in the area which had led to the burning of commuter vehicles belonging to members of the union in Oshodi.
Speaking at the inauguration of the committee on Wednesday, Alhaji Agbede warned that the leadership of the union in the state would not fold its hand and watch some disgruntled elements destroy the peace being enjoyed in the state.
“We have been witnessing peace in the Lagos State Council of our union since my administration came in. We have restored peace in all our parks, so we shall try and find out the cause of the present problem in Oshodi and find a lasting solution to it. I enjoin all our members in the state, especially in Oshodi and its environs, to give peace a chance,” he pleaded.
He commended the efforts of the state government and the police in bringing peace to the area after two days of clashes in Oshodi that left at least four persons dead..
Pandemonium broke out in Oshodi Motor Park last Friday when rival members of the NURTW engaged in supremacy battle over control of motor parks which led to the destruction of vehicles and houses.
Soldiers and policemen from Ikeja were drafted to the area to restore peace. Despite the intervention of security agents, fighting broke out again on Wednesday at the popular motor park. During the clash, more than 10 commuter vehicles, shops and houses were burnt.
A transporter who lost his vehicle in the mayhem explained to P.M.NEWS that the clash was between supporters of Oshodi Motor Park chieftain, Musiliu Akinsanya a.k.a. Oluomo and Under Bridge Boys and Railway Boys.
He attributed Wednesday’s clash to an attempt by Oluomo’s supporters to dislodge the leadership of Under Bridge Boys and Railway Boys from their motor parks.
“They (Oluomo Boys) attacked motor parks and vehicles last Friday but they were resisted by the other gangs. So, on Wednesday, they came to the motor parks under the bridge again, this time with some policemen and started attacking drivers and vehicles. The other boys fought back and many shops and vehicles belonging to supporters and sympathisers of the factions were burnt,” the transporter who did not want his name mentioned narrated to P.M.NEWS.
A sympathiser of Oluomo whose shop was burnt by the combatants blamed the miscreants and hemp smokers under the Oshodi bridge and railway station for the mayhem. She accused them of extorting money from traders and attacking buyers.
“The Oluomo Boys are trying to sanitise the area to promote buying and selling but these thugs and hemp smokers under the bridge and railway station have made Oshodi a hell for traders and their customers,” she stated.
She called on the police and the state government to intensify patrol of Oshodi motor parks to dislodge the miscreants from their camps.
Meanwhile, calm has been restored in the area following the deployment of policemen and soldiers.