A young man identified as Rahmon was reportedly stabbed to death when some members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), otherwise known as Park Management System (PMS) clashed with shop owners in the Iwo Road area of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital on Wednesday evening, June 16.
Nigerian Trinune reported that trouble started when the son of the owner of a shopping complex in the area wanted to park his vehicle in front of the complex but discovered that Park Managers had parked their vehicles at available spaces.
The shop owners confronted the park managers and accused them of always blocking access to shops. The park managers on their part claimed that the same area serves as their coordinating point for buses.
An altercation reportedly ensued as a result of this and it was said to have degenerated into a free for all, leading to the looting of shops, while passers-by were attacked and robbed.
Members of the transport union were said to have later regrouped and launched a fresh attack on the shopping complex with dangerous weapons.
Rahmon, said to be a Lead City University graduate and son of one of the shop owners was reportedly killed during the crisis.
However, officers of the state anti-crime patrol team, operation Burst, and Western Nigerian Security Network, codenamed Amotekun were later deployed to the area to restore order.
Some members of the public protested to the Oyo State governor’s office with the corpse, accusing the park managers of unleashing terror at Iwo Road, leading to the death of one of them.
Government officials who came out to address them appealed to the traders to remain calm while the government address the situation.
An government ambulance was later used to convey the corpse to the morgue of Adeoyo State Hospital.
Reacting to the incident, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Park Management System (PMS) in the state, Alhaji Emiola Jelili, denied the involvement of park managers in the violence, saying “it was a clash between some students and phone sellers in a shopping complex.
“It is very ridiculous and unfortunate that if anytime clash happens in Iwo Road area, some people always attribute it to park managers. This is quite unfair. None of our members was involved in the violence. I can say this with all authority,” he stated.
Spokesperson of the State Police Command, Adewale Osifeso, who confirmed the crisis said, “It is true there was crisis, but nobody died. Our men are already at Iwo Road and they are maintaining law and order.”