Several members of Road Transport Employers' Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) Kwara state branch were injured recently during  the union's chairmanship election.  Peoples Daily Weekend gathered that over ten members of the association were attacked by a faction of the association and left in a  pool of blood.
Narrating his ordeal to journalists in Ilorin, one of the victims, Alhaji AbdulRasaq Ajala  said that the leadership tussle began early this year when the state Exco led by Alhaji  Saliman Ayoku was dissolved and a caretaker committee set up by the National body to paddle the affairs of the association pending the time a new Exco will come onboard.

Ajala said that the caretaker committee was headed by Chief Olurode Adefowope who happened to be the Chairman of Lagos state chapter. He wrote to the National body that Kwara state chapter was peaceful to conduct their election and he put up an electoral committee that would usher in the new Exco.
He added that there are two chairmanship aspirants, one from his camp; Alhaji Ambali Alao and Alhaij Safi Salau from another camp.

The member of the association further explained that,Adefowope, the Lagos state Chairman had been meeting with the two factions to ensure that all parties reached a compromise on whether the election should hold or to select leaders from the two factions saying  all his effort to bring back peace to the association proved abortive as the two factions never agreed on how  the Exco members should come onboard."

He said that the electoral committee, however called a meeting two days earlier and invited the aspirants and ten of their members to the state secretariat.
"We got there as scheduled, 10 am and they did not come until after 11am with 50 members of his group as against the rules of  the electoral committee.
"I called the attention of the electoral committee to the fact that ten of us including the aspirant are to be in the meeting and not over 50 members that our opponents.  The chairman said we should forget about it and we continued with the meeting and asked us to reach a compromise.

"My faction wanted the election, but our opponent did not, this was because we called them before paying huge sum of money for the election that we should share the post within ourselves and they bluntly refused. Now that we have both paid for the election we should go ahead with it. But they didn't want the election anymore."

The victim who alleged that his faction was pursued with double barrel guns said "they pushed us out of the car, as I was coming out of the car another person with a cutlass tried to hit my head with the cutlass but God helped me to block it with my hand. You can see, I started running and shouting for help, they stabed my back twice and I fell down shocked in my own blood, they thought I was dead and they went for other victims.

"When I noticed they had gone, I stood up and started running, but one Alhaji Baba Asende pushing me, he masterminded the attack because this is the fourth time he and his boys were attacking us, he wants to become godfather at all cost so that he can be control the chairman and it was a good Samaritan that helped me to the hospital,"  he added.

Sources informed our correspondent that,  one Alhaji Baba Asende was alleged to have attacked the immediate past chairman of the association, Alhaji Suliman Ayoku, early last year.

Those involved in the attack include; Alhaji Abdulrazaq Lawal, Alhaji Isiaka Alao, Alhaji Ganiyu Oyewole, Mr. Samuel Osameyin, Mallam Saliu Apatapiti, Mr Olayinka Magagi ,Muranina Lasoju,Gbenga Idowu,Isa Atere,  Abdullahi
Olokolan, Moses Oluwawemimo, Haruna Lasoju, Rasaq Seriki Driver, Akorede Saliman, Ajibade Suliman, Aminu Serki Driver, Isa Ogunlende among many others.

Conforming the incident in a telephone interview, the Police Public Relation Officer, DSP Olufemi Fabode said that the command was aware of the development and arrests had been made on some of the attackers, adding that they would be charged to court.