Emir’s Murder: Osun police declare two ex-NURTW chiefs wanted
By Shina Abubakar, Osogbo The Osun State Police Command has declared two former chieftains of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Wakili Nurudeen, popularly known as Alowonle, and Olayemi Ojo, alias…
The National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) has long been associated with turf wars in Nigerian cities, where rival factions fight for control of motor parks and the levies collected from drivers. These disputes have repeatedly turned violent in Osun State and elsewhere, often implicating local "chairmen" or "chieftains" who command loyalists and, in some cases, are linked to political patrons. Killings tied to NURTW factional rivalry have periodically made headlines in the state, with victims including rank-and-file members and sometimes faction leaders themselves.
In this case, coverage converges on the police naming at least one former NURTW chieftain, Nurudeen Alowonle, as wanted over the killing of Olalekan Oyeyemi, alias Emir, with some reports naming a second suspect, Ojo Adeyemi (alias Sibi), as also being sought. Premium Times' framing of the victim as an "ally" of the Osun State governor, Ademola Adeleke, adds a political dimension not emphasised by other outlets, which stick mainly to the NURTW rivalry angle. None of the reports so far detail the motive for the killing, when it occurred, or the specific roles the police allege each suspect played, beyond the commissioner's statement that investigators are working to apprehend those believed to have masterminded it.