Osun NURTW Crisis: Police Confirm 3 Officers Injured, One Suspect Arrested

By Omidiran Seun

Three police operatives were shot and injured following a violent clash between rival factions of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, in Osogbo, Osun State. 

The Osun State Police Command confirmed the incident, which occurred at about 5:30 p.m. on Monday, July 20, 2026, at the Oke-Ijetu area of the state capital.

Briefing journalists on behalf of the Commissioner of Police, CP Ibrahim Gotan; the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Abiodun Ojelabi, said operatives were initially deployed to the area to contain a protest by a faction of the union over alleged denial of access to a motor park by a rival group.

According to him, calm was initially restored, but the command later received a distress call that armed hoodlums had returned to the area and were shooting sporadically.

Ojelabi said a team from the Anti-Robbery and Violent Crime Response Unit, VCRU, was immediately mobilised to the scene.

“On arrival, hoodlums suspected to be members of the faction led by one Wakili Alowonle opened fire on the police operatives. Three security personnel sustained varying degrees of gunshot injuries and were rushed to the hospital for treatment,” the PPRO said.

One suspect, Adedeji Saheed Opeyemi, 40, a Unit Chairman at Idi Seke, Station Road, Osogbo, was arrested at the scene.

Opeyemi, who was paraded by the police, gave a conflicting account. He claimed he received a distress message that members of the “Asiri Eniba” faction had taken over their park.

He said unit chairmen mobilised after receiving messages on their communication platform, adding that their leader, Comrade Nurudeen Alowonle, instructed them to avoid confrontation and await the governor’s intervention.

The suspect further alleged that a union member identified as Sibi from Ife gave him a firearm while he was wrapping Indian hemp to smoke. He claimed he could not operate the gun and returned it, but that Sibi later received a call from Alowonle directing them to Oke-Ijetu, where he allegedly returned with two pump-action rifles and handed one to him.

The police said six expended cartridges, four vehicles, four motorcycles, a military camouflage uniform and suspected criminal charms were recovered from the scene.

Ojelabi added that the suspect is cooperating with investigators and providing useful information that could lead to the arrest of other fleeing suspects.

In a related development, the command also paraded three suspected motorcycle robbers — Kamarudeen Babatunde, 39; Lekan Usman, 22; and Moses Oyebade, 40 — for allegedly snatching a Bajaj motorcycle at Osunjela, Osogbo, on July 19. The motorcycle has been recovered.

Similarly, two suspected political thugs, Alawode Ridwan, 26, and Ajibade Ahmed, 33, were arrested for allegedly fomenting violence around the Amadia area of Osogbo on July 16.

The command assured residents of adequate security, urged the public to remain calm and provide credible information to aid police operations, and warned that anyone caught engaging in violence or other criminal acts would be arrested and prosecuted.