HURIWA Urges Tinubu to Sack ‘Illegal’ NURTW President, Enforce Court Orders

The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to direct the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), and the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, to immediately remove what it described as the “illegal occupant” of the National President’s office of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW).

The rights group expressed outrage over what it termed the continued defiance of court rulings by Musiliu Akinsanya, the former Chairman of the Lagos State Parks Management Committee, who, despite multiple court judgments, still parades himself as the national president of the NURTW.

In a statement issued yesterday, HURIWA’s National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, condemned what he called “the brazen disregard for the rule of law,” accusing the police of aiding Akinsanya’s alleged illegality.

According to Onwubiko, Akinsanya’s continued stay in office amounts to “a clear affront to the sanctity of the courts,” stressing that the government’s silence on the matter suggests selective justice.

“We are appalled that the administration enforces judgments only when they affect perceived political opponents but conveniently ignores them when its allies are involved,” Onwubiko said.

He cited the lingering crisis in Osun State, where local government councils are allegedly occupied by loyalists of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in defiance of valid court orders, as another instance of government complicity.

HURIWA recalled that the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, in November 2024, upheld an earlier decision of the National Industrial Court recognising Tajudeen Ibikunle Baruwa as the lawful president of the NURTW. Baruwa, who had completed his first four-year term, was re-elected in August 2023 in line with the union’s constitution.

However, a faction led by former president and current chairman of the NURTW Board of Trustees, Najeem Usman Yasin, rejected the election outcome and allegedly used the police to hound Baruwa, leading to his repeated arrests and detention. Yasin subsequently dissolved Baruwa’s executive and set up a caretaker committee, a move later invalidated by the court.

HURIWA has now urged President Tinubu to demonstrate leadership by ordering the AGF and IGP to enforce the subsisting judgments and restore Baruwa’s leadership. The group also demanded the removal of those it termed “illegal occupiers” of council offices in Osun State, who it alleged are being shielded by security forces.