Court Grants NURTW President, Baruwa, Others Bail

Baruwa was reportedly granted bail by the court after he was reportedly arraigned by the Nigerian police on Thursday.

An Abuja Magistrate Court granted bail to Tajudeen Baruwa, the President of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), on Thursday, September 21.

Baruwa was reportedly granted bail by the court after he was reportedly arraigned by the Nigerian police on Thursday.

Recall that the NURTW President, three national officers and 21 other members of the union were arrested by the police over a clash between factions of the union recently.

They were arrested on Wednesday, September 13, following an invitation by the FCT Commissioner of Police, Haruna Garba and later detained at the office of the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) located in Guzape.

But on Friday, 15 September, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) knocked the federal government for supporting the faction of Alhaji Musiliu Akinsanya (aka MC Oluomo) and demanded the immediate release of Baruwa and the others.

The NURTW Acting President, Kabiru Minjibir, in the statement, accused the police of descending so low to take sides, after the other faction had carried out a daylight coup d’état in the union.

The NLC expressed worry about the action of the police in releasing Alhaji Tajudeen Badru Agbede, leader of the other faction, after staging a violent attack on the union’s secretariat.

However, on Thursday, 21 September, Baruwa and the others were granted bail from an Abuja Magistrate Court.

According to SaharaReporters, it was reliably gathered that the police had secretly taken them to court with the hope of remanding them in prison custody, but they were finally granted bail.

This platform understands that the details of their arraignment and what they were charged for are still sketchy, but the Court reportedly adjourned the case till October 20, 2023.