The leadership crisis rocking the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) took a fresh twist on Wednesday as the camp of Comrade Tajudeen Ibikunle Baruwa accused security agencies of defying valid court judgments by restoring Musiliu Akinsanya, popularly known as MC Oluomo, to the union’s national secretariat in Abuja.
At a press briefing in the Federal Capital Territory, counsel to Baruwa, Tolu Babaleye Esq., alleged that the Nigeria Police Force, with the support of the Nigerian Army, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and other security formations, acted in open disregard of subsisting court rulings affirming Baruwa as the authentic National President of the union.
The lawyers described the development as a grave assault on the judiciary, the rule of law and democratic order, insisting that what began as an internal union dispute has now degenerated into a constitutional crisis.
According to Babaleye, Baruwa emerged as the duly elected and nationally recognised leader of the NURTW through a lawful electoral process and subsequently secured landmark victories at both the National Industrial Court and the Court of Appeal.
He said the judgments clearly affirmed Baruwa’s leadership and left no room for ambiguity, stressing that they were binding judicial pronouncements and not mere recommendations.
Public reports had earlier confirmed that the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, in November 2024, upheld the earlier decision of the National Industrial Court recognising Baruwa as the legitimate NURTW President and nullifying the emergence of MC Oluomo as national leader of the union. The appellate court was also reported to have dismissed the appeal challenging Baruwa’s leadership and awarded costs against the appellants.
Despite the court victories, Baruwa’s legal team alleged that repeated efforts to compel the enforcement of the judgments were frustrated by state authorities.
Babaleye told journalists that formal letters were written to the Nigeria Police Force and other relevant security agencies demanding compliance with the court orders, but the requests were allegedly ignored.
He added that the matter was later escalated to the Honourable Minister of Labour and the Attorney General of the Federation, with appeals for the executive to give effect to the judgments. While the Minister of Labour reportedly convened the parties, the Baruwa camp claimed the issue was eventually referred for legal advice, a step it described as a delay tactic that emboldened those allegedly acting in defiance of the courts.
According to the legal team, after waiting for over two and a half years without enforcement of the judgments, Baruwa on Monday, March 23, 2026, moved into the NURTW national office in Abuja and peacefully assumed control of the secretariat.
They maintained that there was no violence, no resistance and no breach of peace, insisting that the move was a lawful assertion of rights by a man armed with valid and subsisting judgments.
However, the lawyers alleged that the police, which had failed to act on the judgments for months, suddenly surfaced, not to remove the alleged illegal occupants of the office, but to arrest Baruwa himself.
Babaleye said Baruwa was subsequently charged with public disturbance, a move he described as baseless and legally indefensible.
The legal team further alleged that the situation escalated on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, when security operatives removed Baruwa from the office and later escorted MC Oluomo into the NURTW national secretariat under heavy security protection.
Describing the development as the ultimate indignity, Babaleye argued that MC Oluomo was neither a contestant in the election that produced Baruwa nor a party to the litigation that culminated in the appellate court judgment.
He said the action amounted to a coordinated, military style operation designed to undermine the judiciary and perpetuate an illegal occupation of the union’s national headquarters.
Babaleye told reporters that the tragedy deepened when security agencies led by the police and supported by the Army, Civil Defence and others marched Ayinde Akinsanya, also known as MC Oluomo, into the NURTW national office.
He insisted that the development was not merely contempt by private individuals, but a direct institutional desecration of the judicial process.
According to him, when security agencies begin to choose which court orders to obey and which to ignore, the country ceases to operate under the rule of law and slips into the rule of force.
The Baruwa camp also challenged the Federal Government to act decisively, saying the latest events amount to a major test of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s oft stated commitment to democracy and the rule of law.
Babaleye called on the President to immediately direct the Inspector General of Police to restore Baruwa to office, arrest those allegedly occupying the secretariat unlawfully, and order a full scale investigation into the role played by the police, military and other agencies in the March 24 operation.
He also urged the President to publicly demonstrate through concrete action that no individual, regardless of political influence or connection, is above the Constitution.
The lawyers further called on the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), the National Judicial Council (NJC), civil society groups and all defenders of democracy to speak out against what they termed a dangerous descent into lawlessness.
As of the time of filing this report, there was no official response from the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigerian Army, the NSCDC, the Federal Ministry of Labour, or the office of the Attorney General of the Federation on the allegations.
Likewise, there was no immediate reaction from MC Oluomo or his associates on the claims made by Baruwa’s camp.
The latest development marks yet another dramatic chapter in the protracted NURTW leadership tussle, which has been characterised by rival claims, litigation and political controversy.
In March 2024, the National Industrial Court affirmed Baruwa as NURTW President and disbanded the caretaker structure challenging his authority, before the Court of Appeal in November 2024 upheld that decision.
With the fresh allegations of state backed interference now in the open, the Baruwa camp says it will pursue all legal and constitutional avenues to reclaim the union’s national secretariat and ensure full compliance with the judgments already delivered in its favour.
