The Chairman, Lagos chapter of Tricycle Owners and Operators Association of Nigeria (TOOAN), Azeez Abiola, popularly called Istijaba, has narrated how he escaped an assassination attempt during his visit to the secretariat of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) around Agege axis of the state....CONTINUE READING THE FULL ARTICLE>>>
Abiola said that he narrowly escaped death at the headquarters of the transport body when some thugs loyal to the state chairman, Musiliu Akinsanya popularly called MC Oluomo, allegedly attacked him and members of the TOOAN executives that accompanied him to the secretariat for a meeting with the NURTW, a body which they were affiliated to, which would be centred on the tricycle operations in the Lagos.
He noted that while trying to escape the alleged assassination attempt, two of his TOOAN members sustained varying degrees of life-threatening injuries that were inflicted on them by the thugs loyal to MC Oluomo in the state.
Aside from the injured members, he disclosed that his vehicle was vandalised by the thugs while trying to get him, although he was lucky to have escaped not seriously hurt like other members of the tricycle union in the state.
Narrating his ordeal to pressmen during an interview in Ikeja, the state capital, the newly elected TOAAN chairman told journalists yesterday how that he narrowly escaped death and when was going through his mind during the attack at the new NURTWsecretariat in Agege axis of Lagos.
According to him, all that was just going through his mind was just prayers to almighty Allah to rescue him and the members that accompanied him to the NURTW premises last Thursday.
He described the situation as very traumatising and that this was the reason he had decided to explain what truly transpired before he was invited and not arrested as claimed by the Rapid Response Squad (RRS), a formation of the Lagos Command of Nigerian Police.
The attack was allegedly perpetrated barely 24 hours after he and other members of the association returned from the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, where he was inaugurated by the national chairman of NURTW, Tajudeen Baruwa.
Abiola hinted that minutes after returning from Abuja to Lagos, MC Oluomo called for an emergency meeting to address their operations since the national president has ordered that TOAN should reverse back to where it was before.
The chairman stated that the message received through their Whatsapp lines from the NURTW chairman’s office was that the meeting was an emergency one that TOOAN members should all be present and that this took him to the transport union’s secretariat in Agege.
Narrating his ordeal, after leaving he was released by the RRS, the chairman accused MC Oluomo of allegedly masterminding the failed assassination attempt on him and other members of the association.
“When I got to the NURTW state headquarters, I was ushered into the premises and while I was about filling the visitor’s form, some thugs controlled by MC Oluomo attacked me. And the Police attached to me quickly intervened and rescued me into my vehicle.
“After they realised I could not be attacked inside the vehicle, the thugs began to vandalise the vehicle. While this was ongoing, Mc Oluomo was standing a few meters away and later moved closer and asked that I should wine down but I refused.
Some of the boys asked that they should set my car ablaze but the opinion was turned down because they also have their vehicles within the premises. Later MC Oluomo told them that he has invited the RRS and that I would be arrested and dealt with. And this was when I became relaxed because I know that the Police will rescue me.
“About 1 hour after the RRS arrived and MC Oluomo told the personnel that there is a gun inside my vehicle and that was why they attacked me. So, I came down and allowed the police to ransack the vehicle and they did not find any implicating item inside it. Also, my exco members were attacked and injured.
“Rather than allow me to leave, they asked that I must accompany them to the RRS headquarters, Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja. It was at the RRS that I started hearing that a gun was found inside my car and the officer that found the gun later confessed that the gun was found within the NURTW secretariat premises after I had left”.
According to him, six policemen searched the car and they did not find anything, as well as, MC Oluomo. So, all that was reported were untrue and I urge Nigerians to disregard the information been circulated publicly.
Meanwhile, an ally of the NURTW chairman has countered the claim by the newly appointed Chairman, saying Istijabah was completely untrue, and that Istijabah was only whipping up public sentiments to put MC Oluomo in a bad light in the public.
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