Two factions of Oyo State chapter of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) on Sunday traded words following violent clash at the weekend at Egbeda area of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
Deafening sound of gunshots boomed in the area at the weekend, causing panic as residents ran for cover to avoid bodily harm and injury.
Many residents around the trouble area were said to have remained indoors as shop owners hurriedly closed their business and ran for safety.
It was learnt that trouble started when a former NURTW chairman, Mukaila Lamidi (aka Auxiliary), in company of some of his men and two officers of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), invaded the house of an estranged aide, Musiliudeen Muideen, with dangerous weapons.
It was gathered that apart from beating and shooting Muideen, members of his household, including his brothers, were allegedly dealt with.
However, Auxiliary, when contacted, denied the allegations, saying that the claim was false.
The NURTW chief alleged that some members of the union were out to paint him black for the governor, Seyi Makinde, to stop his impending announcement as the new NURTW chairman.
Auxiliary, who spoke through one of his aides, Alhaji Ahmed Raheem, said the allegation was an attempt to destroy his reputation, stating that as a peace-loving person, he would never engage in acts that would bring disrepute to the state.
Raheem said Auxiliary had intelligent report that some hoodlums were planning to attack people to tarnish his name and he went there with the NSCDC officers to arrest them and subsequently handed them over to men of the state joint security task force.
But, the victim, Muideen, confirmed the attack on him, while speaking with reporters yesterday, saying that his house was invaded with six vehicles loaded with NURTW members and two NSCDC men brandishing dangerous weapons.
He stated that if it were to be in the night, he would have been killed.
Muideen added that after he was beaten to the point of death and his family members traumatised, he was driven to the headquarters of the state joint security task force, Operation Burst, and handed over to the state commander.
Another member of NURTW, Kabiru Adekunle, said he bolted away from his house immediately he was informed by a source that the members of the union were heading towards his house.
The two men called on Makinde to save the state from being turned into a battlefield with those they described as miscreants lording themselves over others.
Commander of the Operation Burst Captain Peter Osolo, who confirmed that some NURTW men were brought to the outfit, said he released them when he discovered that nothing incriminating was found on them.
