By Remi OladoyeAt least, 27 cars and 5 trucks were vandalised by thugs suspected to be members of the National Union of Road Transport Works (NURTW), Oyo State branch today at the Express Quarry Nigeria Limited, Kilometre 15, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Ekefa Village in Ibadan.The mayhem was said to have stemmed from how members of the NURTW were collecting N2,500 from each truck driver for each load of granite from the quarry.Drivers interviewed said that they wanted to pay once in a day, adding that payment of N2,500 for each load of granites was exploitative.Dangerous weapons such as guns, cutlasses, broken bottles, granite, clubs and so on were said to have been used freely during the fracas.A truckload of granites, a driver said, costs about N130,000.The fracas, which reportedly started at about 9:15a.m., left many people injured. But the sources said, nobody died during the brawl.Many of the workers and quarry operators were said to have run into the bush and canal near the site for safety.The pandemonium also caused intractable traffic logjam along the expressway. Commuters going towards Lagos and those going towards Ibadan were also said to have hurriedly alighted from their buses and ran into the nearby bush for safety.The Commissioner of Police in Oyo State, Mr. Kola Sodipo, while on assessment visit to the scene of the incident urged the stakeholders to maintain peace, saying the police have started working on the incident and justice would be done on the matter.The incident, as gathered, had triggered a protest during which members of Oluyole Ibadan Granites Sellers and Hauler Association, trucker owners as well as drivers demanded that they did not want NURTW office at the quarry any longer.Some executive members of the NURTW, according to sources, came to the quarry on Monday and placated the protesters with a promise that a delegation of the state executive of the union would visit the quarry on Tuesday morning in order to resolve the matter amicably.Unverified report revealed that the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Toll Gate Divisional Headquarters, Mr. Olufemi Awoyale, intervened in the matter by inviting five representatives of the warring factions for a meeting on Tuesday morning. The meeting was reportedly in progress when the hoodlums stormed the quarry.The policemen from Toll Gate were said to have responded swiftly and shot into the air towards scaring the troublemakers. When the matter got out of hands, the police division called for reinforcement.The arrival of the mobile policemen was said to have restored delicate peace to the quarry.A man, who did not want his name mentioned in print, said: Two among our customers, who came to pay for granites were also attacked. They had not paid before the problem broke out. The thugs collected their money.
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