As residents and passersby scampered to safety, traders close to the park were attacked and their goods destroyed by the rampaging thugs.
According to an eyewitness who does not want his name in print, during the tenure of the former Lagos State NURTW chairman, Tajudeen Agbede, it was only Kunle Poly that was controlling the park.
The source added that: “Since the present chairman, Musiliu Akinsanya a.k.a. MC Oluomo, took over, the park was split into three units, with three chairmen. Kunle Poly and his boys were not happy with the new development.
“It was like war on Monday when they were fighting. We couldn’t open our shops, and some hoodlums used the opportunity to loot people’s shops and attack their perceived enemies in the market. I don’t know why Lagos State government cannot proscribe NURTW. The havoc they are causing is unbearable for us on the island.”
A trader who simply gave his name as Abdulrahman said one of the boys of Okoro, named Tolani, was said to have been hacked to death by the rival union members. Abdulrahman said when the park was shared for both parties by the present NURTW chairman, Kunle Poly boys were to work for two weeks, while the Okoro boys were to work for one week.
“Fortunately, Kunle Poly boys had completed their days and it was the turn of Okoro boys who came out to work, but Kunle Poly boys allegedly attacked them and prevented them from working at the park, which resulted in the clash.
“Currently, some members of the NURTW from the state level are on ground to resolve the matter amicably between the rival groups in the park. A team of policemen from Rapid Response Squad (RRS) task force and mobile policemen were also at the scene to prevent further breakdown of law and order in the area.”
The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Bala Elkana, told The Guardian on telephone that the clash had been quelled by the police.
According to him, “the fight is between two rival groups in Idumota motor park. Our officers have intervened and Lagos State government has also intervened in the matter. It is not true that someone died.”