‘Attempted murder’: NUPENG not using police to settle union dispute, president tells court

Williams Akporeha, national president of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), has denied claims that the union is using the police and the courts to resolve internal leadership disputes.

Akporeha spoke on Wednesday during cross-examination by Christopher Oshomegie, defence counsel, in the ongoing trial of 21 former leaders of the Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) branch of NUPENG before Yusuf Halilu, judge of the high court of the federal capital territory (FCT), Abuja.

The defendants are facing a five-count charge bordering on attempted murder, breach of public peace, and assault.

Among them are Lucky Osesua, a former PTD national chairman; Dayyabu Garga; Humble Obinna; Akinolu Olabisi; Godwin Nwaka; Tiamiu Sikiru; Abdulmimin Shaibu; and John Amajuoyi. Others include Zaira Aregbo, Patrick Erhivwor, Stephen Ogheneruemu, Gift Ukponku, and Sunday Ezeocha.

In the charge marked FCT/HC/CR/042/2023, the prosecution alleged that the defendants attacked Akporeha, Olawale Afolabi, the union’s secretary-general, and Augustine Egbon, the newly elected PTD national chairman, in a manner that endangered their lives.

All the defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges.

‘NO FACTION IN NUPENG’

Testifying as the second prosecution witness (PW2), Akporeha told the court that NUPENG remains a unified body and is not divided into rival factions as alleged.

“It is not correct that one group is using the police and court against another to settle a union matter,” he said.

“I am the national president of the union; I oversee everybody. NUPENG is one body, and there are no groups. NUPENG has about 150 branches, and PTD is just one of them. The issue of one group against another does not arise.”

He told the court that the PTD branch had conducted an executive election in June 2022 in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital, which produced Osesua and others as winners.

However, the national industrial court sitting in Yenagoa, Bayelsa state, later nullified the election and ordered a fresh poll under the supervision of NUPENG.

“After the first election was nullified, another one was conducted as directed by the court,” Akporeha said.

“Some of them went to court again, and that one too was nullified. After this, NUPENG conducted another election in Ibadan, while some people held an illegal one in Abuja.

“It is NUPENG that is supposed to conduct the election, and the one conducted in Ibadan was the legitimate one.”

He said most of those who organised the parallel Abuja election failed to attend the legitimate exercise in Ibadan.

According to him, the executives who were elected in the Ibadan election were duly inaugurated, while the Osesua-led group later filed a separate suit challenging their legitimacy and joined him as a defendant.

‘WE WERE ATTACKED AT PTD SECRETARIAT’

Akporeha also denied suggestions by the defence that he went to the PTD national secretariat to install a factional leader.

The NUPENG president told the court that he and other officials were attacked when they visited the PTD national secretariat at No. 50 Majekodunmi Street, Utako, Abuja — the union’s liaison office.

“We met Osesua and others at the gate. They stopped us from driving in, so we used the small gate to enter,” he said.

“Shortly after, they attacked us. The defendants led a mob armed with gallons of petrol and other weapons to our hotel. Doors and windows were destroyed.”

Akporeha narrated how he was on the phone with Egbon during the attack and heard his door being broken.

“I heard him scream. I saw when he was beaten and dragged from the fourth floor. He was beaten to a pulp,” he testified.

He said it took the intervention of the then acting divisional police officer (DPO) of Utako division to rescue him and arrest the suspects.

After the cross-examination, the judge adjourned the case till November 10 for continuation of hearing.