There was pandemonium in Osogbo, the capital of Osun State yesterday, after some commercial drivers revolted against the chairman of the Osun State Park Management System, Wakili Nurudeen, and stabbed him for allegedly extorting them.
The irate commercial drivers, including some executive officers of the park management system, allegedly ambushed Nurudeen at the Oke-Baale area of Osogbo and inflicted injuries on his neck and hand.
The development led to a confrontation between the supporters of Nurudeen, popularly known as Alowonle, and the factional members of the park management.
This resulted in panic at major parks in Osogbo, including Oke-Baale, Ilesa Garage, Sadiat and Oke-Ayepe as gunshots rented the air, causing residents to run helter-skelter.
Earlier before the attack, the disgruntled drivers had staged a peaceful protest around the Olaiya area of Osogbo, demanding the removal of Nurudeen as chairman.
The protesters accused him of extortion, high-handedness and threatening members who dared to oppose his conduct.
Speaking during the protest, a former Secretary of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), who identified himself as “SA to Park Management Chairman”, Comrade Morounkade Akinade, said: “When the governor (Ademola Adeleke) wanted to become the Asiwaju of Ede Land, he (Nurudeen) said each of the eight groups in Osun State should bring N150,000, which amounted to N1.2 million.
“So, he is very fond of collecting money in the name of Adeleke’s family. If anyone challenges him, he will threaten such a person.
“So, we decided that we don’t want him again. He is not capable. He doesn’t have experience, and when we tried to correct him, he refused blatantly.
“The government gave us tickets, but he refused to remit money to them. We opposed him then, but he threatened to kill us. He even beat our members, and we have sent the pictures to the DSS for investigation.
“We don’t want him again as our state chairman. The members are from Ife, Modakeke, Sekona, Ilesa, Ila, Ode-Omu, Gbongan and Oke-Ila. They are all here at our state secretariat. We are at the secretariat now and they are threatening us with guns. They said they will kill us.”
Nurudeen, who was hospitalised after he was attacked, was drenched in blood. Other members of the transport union were reportedly injured.
He denied the allegations during an interview with journalists, saying the irate park members had hated him since NURTW was abolished in the state and replaced with the Osun Park Management System.
On how he was allegedly attacked and injured, Nurudeen stated: “I saw that some hoodlums gathered and blocked me on the road. Two of them were our former members.
“They attacked and stabbed me. They shot at my car. My car is still at the place where they damaged it. The police have seen the evidence too.”
He added: “It is not true that I am not approachable to members. I am not a lion. It is only a lion that would be leading and no one would dare to advise him.”
Meanwhile, security operatives, including the police, Department of State Services (DSS), Amotekun and local vigilantes were deployed to restore order.
