The National President of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), Williams Akporeha, on Wednesday, refuted claims that the union was using law enforcement agencies and the judiciary to settle internal disputes.
Akporeha made the clarification while being cross-examined by defence counsel, Christopher Oshomegie (SAN), during the ongoing trial of 21 former Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) branch leaders before Justice Yusuf Halilu of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, Maitama.
The defendants, including former PTD National Chairman, Lucky Osesua, are facing five counts of attempted murder, breach of peace, and assault following an alleged attack on Akporeha, NUPENG Secretary-General Olawale Afolabi, and the new PTD Chairman, Augustine Egbon, on November 1, 2023. They have all pleaded not guilty.
Testifying, Akporeha insisted that NUPENG remained a united body with over 150 branches, including PTD, and denied the existence of rival factions. He explained that while the PTD election held in Ibadan in June 2022 was nullified by the National Industrial Court in Yenagoa, a subsequent court-ordered election supervised by NUPENG was conducted in Ibadan. However, some aggrieved members organized a parallel “illegal” election in Abuja.
He alleged that Osesua and others who led the Abuja election were responsible for a violent attack on him and other officials at the PTD secretariat in Utako, Abuja, where they were prevented from entering through the main gate. He recounted that a mob armed with petrol and weapons also stormed their hotel, assaulting him and Egbon before police rescued them.
Justice Halilu adjourned the case until November 10 for the continuation of the hearing.
