FUTA’s NASU in tussle with national leadership over seizure of official vehicle

The Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) at the Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA) is protesting police seizure of its official vehicle in what appears to be a tussle with its national leadership.

The NASU branch is also alleging state police intrusion into its internal affairs.

The union members, led by the branch chairman Adebayo Aladerotoun, took to the streets on Wednesday to air their grievances over how the police confiscated their official vehicle.

They stated that the police had no right to seize an official vehicle purchased with staff funds.

Aladerotoun said the FUTA union members contributed money to buy the seized car and that they have the documents intact.

He alleged that some individuals, however, claimed the vehicle belonged to its national body.

Aladerotoun said the police defied a court order and handed the car to unknown persons.

The chairman said there is a report that the union’s branch in FUTA is no longer part of the national body.

He revealed that the court ruled on the matter, ordering the police to return the vehicle to the NASU secretariat in FUTA.

Aladetotoun warned that if the police do not reverse their decision, “it could spark tension in the university community”.

“We all know the position of the law that when it comes to the issue of association, it’s not within the jurisdiction of the Nigerian police to meddle into, to the extent that the Nigerian police, they took over our vehicle since June 2024, and because some people said they have chased us away from the union, and there was a case that was still pending in the court over that matter, and some group of faceless individuals and miscreants, they went to the police that they want to collect the properties of the union,” he said.

“And we told the Nigerian police that this process is not lawful. The car was bought with the money of members’ money, you can see them now, they are protesting. They bought the car with their money. It’s not any national headquarters money.

“It’s staff money here that was used to procure that Toyota Sienna vehicle. And the key was with us, and the particulars were with us. Later, we went to court. The court said, directed the police to park it in front of our union secretariat. But the police refused. They went ahead to release it to some individuals who were unknown to us.”

The union leader appealed to Kayode Egbetokun, the inspector-general of police, to intervene.

Ayanlade Olusola, the Ondo police spokesperson, said the police had followed the court’s directive and returned the vehicle to the union’s secretariat.