Christopher Oji
A faction of the Lagos State Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) has called on the Inspector-General of Police, Muhammed Adamu, to urgently direct the state commissioner of police to investigate and execute a court order compelling Alhaji Musa Mohammed and his cohorts to stop parading themselves as executive members of the association.
The faction also alleged threat to their lives and attempted murder.
The aggrieved members, including Alhaji Sulaimon Onabanjo, caretaker chairman, Comrade Augustine Akhigbe, caretaker secretary and two other persons have, therefore, urged the IGP to investigate alleged embezzlement of N4 billion belonging to the association.
However, Mohammed denied the allegations, saying there was no court order binding him to vacate office and that his executive neither threatened any member’s life or embezzled the association’s money.
According to the caretaker committee members, Mohammed ‘boys’ had resorted to molesting, harassing, and dehumanising members of the association who have now gone into hiding because of the threats to their lives. The aggrieved members, however, claimed that Justice Sanusi Kado of the National Industrial Court, Abuja, while ruling in the suit with No nICN/275/2019 asked Mohammed and six others not to parade themselves and hold themselves as officers of RTEAN.
In his reaction, Mohammed said the allegations were laughable as there was no court order binding him to vacate office. According to him, the order that the faction referred to has since elapsed without him being served.
“There is, however, an instant order from Justice O.Y Anuwe of the National Industrial Court Of Nigeria, Abuja Division, stating that parties are to maintain peace and harmony. The court also ordered that members must not disrupt the peace of the union and the larger society.”
Anuwe also ordered parties to obey the law and not do anything unlawful that may be seen as disobedience to the laws of the land.
Mohammed added that election has been conducted where himself and some other members of his former executive members have been returned and given certificate of returns.
“The election was conducted according to our constitution. Registration was done, forms were sold and voting was done. In our constitution, there is nothing like caretaker committee. Once a tenure elapses, election will be conducted. I emerged the winner and there is no controversy about the elections .I have been congratulated by relevant authorities. There is no crisis in RTEAN, those who are aggrieved can approach the Appeal Court to register their grievances. They are also welcomed back if they decided to return to the association. They are our brothers, we have forgiven them of their mistakes. If they come back, we will still accept them. Our association is a peaceful one and we don’t want any disunity.”
