Rights group demands release of tanker drivers, seeks police probe
By Sherifdeen Amusa The Human Rights Monitoring Agenda (HURMA) has called on the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Moshood Jimoh, to order the release of four Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD)
By Sherifdeen Amusa
The Human Rights Monitoring Agenda (HURMA) has called on the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Moshood Jimoh, to order the release of four Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) currently detained at the Kirikiri Maximum Correctional Centre and investigate the circumstances surrounding their incarceration.
The demand was made during a protest at the PTD Office, NNPC Depot, Ejigbo, Lagos, led by HURMA Director, Comrade Buna Olaitan Isiak
The affected drivers are Kabiru Salami, Kazeem Adeniran, Saheed Alegbeleye, and Oladeji Rahmon.
Isiak stated that the four men had reported an alleged attack by a rival PTD faction at the Ejigbo Police Station but were instead arrested, arraigned, and remanded at the Kirikiri facility.
“We are deeply concerned that when both parties reported the incident at Ejigbo Police Station, officers on duty allegedly arrested the four individuals who had come to lodge a complaint. It is further alleged that they were taken before different magistrates’ courts until a detention order was secured under stringent and questionable conditions. They are currently being held at Kirikiri Maximum Correctional Centre,” he said.
Isiak warned that failure to urgently address the matter could heighten tensions and disrupt industrial harmony and public peace in Lagos State. He further alleged possible complicity and abuse of office by officers attached to Zone D of the Lagos State Police Command.
HURMA traced the dispute to an internal crisis within the PTD, linked to the refusal of the South-West zonal leadership of the union, alongside the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), to conduct elections after the tenure of former executives expired.
The group demanded an immediate and impartial investigation into the roles played by officers at Ejigbo Police Station and Zone D; disciplinary action against any personnel found culpable; and the release of the four detained drivers pending a transparent review of the allegations.
A former PTD coordinator in Ejigbo, Jimoh Abdurrahman, said the crisis dates back to March 2022, when the tenure of the previous executives lapsed. He alleged that attempts by Lagos zonal leaders to impose new executives without an election sparked the intra-union conflict.
Abdurrahman further claimed that those who went to the police station to report the incident were detained and arraigned the following day, while members of the opposing faction were allegedly released.