OYINGBO, Lagos Mainland, erupted in violence on Tuesday night, following the killing of a National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) leader, Babajide Dosunmu, by unknown people, in his home.
NURTW members, Traders and passersby ran helter-skelter as factional NURTW members clashed, accusing one another of the killing.
Dosunmu, popularly known as Madus was killed in his Queen Street, Alagomeji home.
Madus, was said to have told his wife some weeks ago that two NURTW members hadthreatened to kill him.
The men were arrested by the police, but released after Madus was prevailed upon to withdraw his complaint.
Many were injured before the police restored normalcy yesterday.
Oyingbo market was a shadow of itself. Shops were locked; commercial bus operators ran skeletal service. People milled, discussing the incident.
Police vans were stationed in the market.
At the Denton Police Station, an officer said the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) was not around. He directed our reporter to a senior officer.
“That is the officer that you will meet; he will tell you what happened,” he said.
The officer was seen rushing out to see the visiting Area Commander.
“You can wait for him,” said the officer.
On his returned, he said he knew nothing about of the incident.
“I don’t know what happen,” the officer said.
Some of the traders told The Nation that Madus was killed in his house.
“He wasn’t killed inside this market. They attacked and killed him near his residence on his way home. The crisis then spilled over to this place,” the trader said.
Another trader told The Nation that the late Madus was their leader.
“Traders decided to make him a leader due to his kind nature. He has done a lot for both commercial bus drivers and traders. He was a nice man, helping people to secure jobs,” the trader said.
To the widow, the incident is still like a dream.
In the midst of sympathisers in their sitting room, Mrs Dosunmu said: “I don’t know what to say… somebody came to call me last night that some people are fighting my husband downstairs. I quickly followed him; by the time we reached the compound, we saw him in a pool of his own blood, lifeless. We quickly rushed him down to a hospital at Railway Station; it was there the doctor confirmed that he was dead. We thought of taking him to the mortuary but because we have decided to bury him today, we brought his remains home and this morning we buried him. We just returned home not quite long,” she said.
Mrs Dosunmu said her husband’s remains were interred at his house in Ikorodu, Lagos.
