There was sporadic shooting on Monday at the Old Garage motor park in Osogbo, where a group of the National Union of Road Transport Workers had earlier on Sunday taken control.
According to sources, hoodlums attacked some union members who were reporting for duty in auto parks around Oke-Baale, Ilesa Garage, and Old Coca-Cola Area, all in the Osogbo metropolis.
Residents who had barely started their day’s work fled for cover as a result of the shooting in fear of being shot at.
Later, the fighting moved to the Ayetoro neighborhood, where a union member reportedly came under matchet attack and was forced to flee in his car. Later, his attackers set fire to the vehicle.
Recall that when the forced takeover began on Sunday, at least 10 NURTW members were reportedly injured around Osun.
The perpetrators of the attacks allegedly enlisted hoodlums and invaded the state secretariat of the union in Osogbo shortly after Senator Ademola Adeleke took office as governor of Osun.
The claimed attackers were reportedly occupying the secretariat on the Osogbo/Ilesa route at the time this news was filed.
Additionally, it was discovered that the attackers damaged some of the vehicles parked on the property as well as the structure, injuring Sunday Akinwale, the union’s state financial secretary.
The State Secretary of the Union, Osundiya Akinsola, confirmed the attack in a statement to newsmen. He said that when the attackers rushed the location in response to a distress call, several police officers carried him to safety.
He further said, “Our Financial Secretary, Sunday Akinwale, was attacked. Our state secretariat was vandalised.
Our park at Old Coca Cola Area in Osogbo was attacked, our members at Ijetu Motor park in Osogbo were attacked.
“A bus and a Toyota Sienna vehicle belonging to the Financial Secretary parked within the premises of our state secretariat were vandalised. Those that perpetrated the attack are still there presently.
“In all, over 10 members were attacked and injured. This number included those that were attacked in Ilesa town. Those that carried out the attack wanted to forcefully take over the leadership of the union.
“The ring leader of the attack is not one of our officials. He wanted to forcefully take over the union. He has shown interest in becoming the State Chairman and his ambition is against the Constitution of our union. We have informed the police, the Department of State Services and even the family of the new governor about activities of these miscreants.”
He encouraged, AdemolaAdeleke, the State Governor, to stop the attackers before they disrupted more tranquility by ordering the union to operate sanely once more.
On Monday, Yemisi Opalola, the spokeswoman for the Osun State Police Command, was unavailable for comment.
As of the time this complaint was filed, she had not answered any calls or texted her regarding the incident.
