Authorities charge Baruwa, refute allegations of gunfire at NURTW headquarters

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The Federal Capital Territory Police Command, on Monday, described videos circulating on social media alleging police involvement in a shooting at the National Union of Road Transport Workers headquarters in Garki II, Abuja, as false and misleading.

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The command stated that its officers only intervened to restore order after receiving a distress call.

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It also stated that it arraigned the court-reinstated National President of the NURTW, Ibikunle Baruwa, alongside six others, over the violence at the headquarters.

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A statement by the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Josephine Adeh, said the command received a report at about 7:00 a.m. on March 23, 2026, that about 300 individuals armed with cutlasses, bottles, bows and arrows had stormed the NURTW headquarters and were removing items from the premises.

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She said the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of Operations, DCP Isyaku Sharu, led a response team to the scene, where preliminary investigations showed that the group attempted to enforce a court order without the presence of court sheriffs and other authorised officials.

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According to her, the action degenerated into a physical confrontation when other NURTW members resisted the move, leading to one victim sustaining severe machete wounds to the neck.

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“The FCT Police Command is aware of videos circulating on social media alleging that personnel of the command shot at some members of the NURTW at their headquarters in Garki II, Abuja.

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“The command wishes to state that these are false and misleading claims aimed at rousing public sentiments.

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“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.

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“In a swift response, the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of Operations, DCP Isyaku Sharu, led a response team to the scene.

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“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.

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“This action degenerated into a physical confrontation when other members of the NURTW attempted to resist them, leading to one victim being inflicted with severe machete wounds to the neck.

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“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,” she said.

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Adeh said seven suspects — Sulaiman A. Musa, Nasiru Ibrahim, Alhaji Sadisu Musa, Dalha Suleiman, Abdullahi Garba, Saheed Fojebi and Ibikunle T. Baruwa — were arrested at the scene.

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She added that the suspects had been charged before Magistrates’ Court 1, Wuse Zone 2, while normalcy had been restored to the area.

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The PUNCH earlier reported that former NURTW President, Baruwa, assumed control of the union’s national secretariat in Abuja after displacing Musiliu Akinsanya, popularly known as MC Oluomo, citing a series of court rulings.

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