One dead, many injured as NURTW members clash in Ondo

A yet-to-be-identified man was on Tuesday killed in a clash between two factions of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in Akure, Ondo state.

The clash, which occurred around Benin/Ado garage along Ilesha/Owo expressway also left several persons injured and vehicles damaged.

A witness told TheCable that social and economic activities in the area have been paralysed.

“NURTW members are currently on gunshot rampage in Akure. Someone has been killed already,” he said.

“The drivers, armed with dangerous weapons, are currently attacking themselves and their personal vehicles,” the witness said.

Last Monday, the government suspended the activities of the NURTW and the Road Transport Employers of Nigeria (RTEAN) in the state.

Doyin Odebowale, senior special assistant on special duties to Rotimi Akeredolu, the governor, said the suspension was to allow the unions to meet and settle their differences in order to prevent violent clashes between them.

Odebowale, who expressed regrets at the spate of unruly behaviour often exhibited by members of the associations at state functions and events, said the government “could no longer put up with such an embarrassing show of shame”.

The taxi union recently increased its fares by 100 percent — from N50 to N100 — as a result of an alleged increase in the price of the various tickets they buy from the NURTW on daily basis.

The government ordered that the fares be reduced to their old rates with immediate effect, adding that it would not allow any act of lawlessness.