The leadership crisis within the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) escalated on Tuesday, 24 March 2026, as Musiliu Akinsanya, popularly known as MC Oluomo, re-took control of the union’s National Secretariat in Abuja and began assessing damage to the facility.
The development comes less than 24 hours after a rival faction led by Tajudeen Baruwa occupied the same secretariat, citing court rulings affirming his leadership of the union.
Baruwa, who addressed journalists on Monday, had maintained that his actions were legally backed and carried out in line with judicial pronouncements.
“Our actions were backed by two court judgments delivered in our favour,” he said, insisting that the occupation of the secretariat followed lawful procedures.
He also stated that his faction had informed the Nigeria Police Force and submitted copies of the court judgments ahead of the takeover.
However, the situation shifted after the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command intervened, arresting Baruwa and several of his associates over what authorities described as unlawful enforcement of a court order.
In a statement issued by the Command’s spokesperson, Josephine Adeh, the police said the group attempted to enforce the judgment without the presence of court officials.
The statement noted that the suspects were “attempting to enforce a court order on the premises without the presence of court sheriffs and other officials.”
Those arrested include Ibikunle Baruwa, Sulaiman Musa, Nasiru Ibrahim, Alhaji Sadisu Musa, Dalha Suleiman, Abdullahi Garba, and Saheed Fojebi.
Amid the heightened tension, the police also dismissed circulating reports alleging that officers opened fire on NURTW members at the Garki secretariat, describing the claims as “false and misleading.”
