Musiliu Akinsanya, popularly known as MC Oluomo, has reclaimed control of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) national secretariat in Abuja following the arrest of Tajudeen Baruwa.
Baruwa had earlier, on Monday, led a group to take over the secretariat after displacing MC Oluomo, citing a series of court rulings he claimed were in his favour.
However, he was subsequently arrested alongside six others by the Federal Capital Territory police and arraigned before a magistrate court in Wuse, leading to the restoration of order at the facility.
In a video shared on X by TVC News on Tuesday, MC Oluomo was seen inspecting damage to the secretariat after regaining access.
In a statement posted on his Instagram page, he dismissed Baruwa’s takeover, maintaining that he remains the union’s national president.
“The National President wishes to intimate members of the union and the general public that he was not a defendant in the purported judgment. The judgment has been appealed, and a stay of execution has been duly entered,” the statement reads.
“He has not engaged with Mr Baruwa or any individual, aware that cases are pending in court. The situation is under the control of security agencies. Alhaji Musiliu Ayinde Akinsanya remains the National President of NURTW.”
Background to the dispute
In November 2024, the court of appeal in Abuja upheld Baruwa as president of the NURTW, affirming an earlier ruling of the National Industrial Court which reinstated him for a second term in March.
Justice O.O. Oyewumi had validated the zonal delegates’ conference where Baruwa was re-elected on May 24, 2023, and also recognised the quadrennial national delegates’ conference held on August 23, 2023, as the legitimate forum for inaugurating national officers.
Dissatisfied with the outcome, Najeem Yasin, Tajudeen Agbede, and others who laid claim to the union’s leadership filed an appeal (CA/ABJ/CV/293/2024), challenging the industrial court’s ruling.
On November 8, a three-member panel led by Justice Hamma Barka dismissed the appeal and awarded N100,000 in costs against the appellants.
The judgment also nullified the election of MC Oluomo as union president, which had been conducted at the union’s zonal secretariat along the Osogbo–Ikirun road in Osun State on November 9.
Speaking after taking over the secretariat on Monday, Baruwa insisted his actions were backed by the court rulings in his favour, adding that he had formally notified the police beforehand, although he expressed disappointment with their response.