10 injured as two NURTW factions clash in Ondo

By OLUFEMI OJOMO

No fewer than 10 members of the Ondo State chapter of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) have been injured during a clash between two factions of the union in Akure, the state capital.

The state government had suspended the union’s activities and subsequently inaugurated a 21-member State Motor Parks Management Committee led by a former state chairman of NURTW, Jacob Adebo.

Some aggrieved members of the union on Monday evening, numbering about 50 stormed the Ado Ekiti park in the state capital in some buses and went on a rampage across other parks in the area.

Armed with dangerous weapons such as cutlasses, bottles, and guns, the hoodlums stormed the popular Oba Adesida Road and other major streets in the city centre, causing panic among residents.

While the violence continued, motorists and other road users scampered for safety with some shop owners swiftly closing up to avoid looting.

A faction of the union had protested the ban on NURTW by the state government and the imposition of the former state chairman to lead the committee to manage the parks in the state.

Those who sustained various degrees of injury during the violence were later taken to the hospital for treatment.

Confirming the incident, the spokesperson for the Ondo State Police Command, Funmilayo Odunlami, said a team of security operatives has been deployed in the area to bring the situation under control and restored peace to the city.

She insisted that the police would not allow anyone to cause any crisis in the state, adding that the police were up to the task of providing adequate security to lives and property in the state. (Channels TV)