The Federal Capital Territory Police Command has charged the Factional Chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Tajudeen Baruwa, Factional General Secretary Sulaiman Musa and five others to court over the forceful overtaking of the national secretariat of the union.
NURTW has been engulfed in an internal crisis in the last two years in the aftermath of a delegates conference expected to produce a new leadership.
A faction of the NURTW, led by its former President, Baruwa, took over the National Secretariat of the union in an attempt to enforce a court order reinstating him as the leader of the union.
The takeover happened early Monday as members of the faction stormed the Secretariat and forced the few policemen on the ground to take cover.
According to a Monday statement signed by the command’s spokesperson, SP Josephine Adeh, the suspects were attempting to enforce a court order on the premises without the presence of court sheriffs and other officials.
The suspects arrested include Ibikunle Baruwa, Sulaiman Musa, Nasiru Ibrahim, Alhaji Sadisu Musa, Dalha Suleiman, Abdullahi Garba, and Saheed Fojebi.
They also clarified a viral social media report suggesting that police officers were shooting at some members of the NURTW at the Garki headquarters in Abuja, describing it as “false and misleading.”
The statement reads, “The FCT Police Command is aware of videos circulating on social media alleging that personnel of the Command shot at some members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) at their headquarters in Garki II, Abuja. The Command wishes to state that these are false and misleading claims aimed at rousing public sentiments.
“On 23rd of March 2026, at approximately 7:00 a.m., a distress call was received by the FCT Police Command reporting that about 300 individuals, armed with cutlasses, bottles, bows, and arrows, had stormed the NURTW headquarters along Sapele Street, Garki II, Abuja, and were removing items from the premises.
“In a swift response, the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of Operations, DCP Isyaku Sharu, led a response team to the scene. Upon arrival, preliminary investigations revealed that the suspects were attempting to enforce a court order on the premises without the presence of court sheriffs and other officials.”
The statement added, “This action degenerated into a physical confrontation when other members of the NURTW attempted to resist them. Which led to one victim being inflicted with severe machete wounds to the neck.
“He was rescued by the Police team, while several others who sustained varying degrees of injuries were rushed to a nearby hospital for medical treatment.”
The statement revealed that the suspects were charged in Magistrate Court 1, Wuse Zone 2, noting that normalcy has been restored to the area.
The Command reaffirms its commitment to ensuring the safety and security of all residents of the FCT.
The command urges members of the public to support security efforts by providing timely information through the Command’s emergency lines: 08032003913, 08061581938.
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