The Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) and the Truckers and Carriers Association of Nigeria (TACAN) are at odds over allegations of extortion and assault at the Lagos Ports that resulted in the hospitalization of three people with serious injuries.
Despite TACAN’s accusations that MWUN members were responsible for the attack, MWUN insisted that its members had nothing to do with it, claiming that the attack was the result of hoodlums disrupting the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents’ (ANLCA) electioneering campaign.
Mr.Rasaq Babatinde, a member of the TACAN Board of Trustees, said that drivers and truck owners had been attacked and hurt because they had refused to pay extortion demands made by MWUN.
Between Cocoanut Bus Stop and Tin-Can port, N8,000, according to Babatunde, is extorted from each truck. He added that while some of these collections are receipted, others are not.
Some of their members, he claimed, were attacked with dangerous weapons very early in the morning and told they should never return to the ports.
Kazeem Omoboriowo, who claimed to be a victim of the alleged attack, said: “My attackers are well known to me, and I am also known to them. They are MWUN members, I can state that without a doubt.
Mr. Taofeek Ogunremi, another alleged victim, claimed that they were attacked unannouncedly after they refused to pay the N3,000 for a recently introduced ticket by the leadership of MWUN and the National Association of Road Transport Owners NARTO.
“One of the attackers told the other boys to stop attacking me because he knows him, the man said.
“You must pay an additional N30,000 before a truck arrives at the port after paying almost N30,000 on the ETO platform to be called up to the ports to load cargo. We are now being asked to donate N3,000 to MWUN and NARTO. It’s getting to be too much.
The victims specifically mentioned one Taofeek, a Unit Chairman of MWUN, for organizing the collection and attack on any driver who opposes or refuses to pay the N3,000 ticket money.
For his part, Abdullahi Eroje, Deputy General Secretary, Organizing, MWUN, told Gistlover that the organization’s leadership has no patience for hooliganism but is worried about the welfare of the drivers entering and exiting the ports.
Eroje said that after a court ruled in MWUN’s favor regarding the collection of union dues from trucks working in the ports, MWUN and NARTO formed an alliance to collect N3,000 in order to ensure efficient dues collection.
He claims that the union wants to put restrooms and restroom facilities for truck drivers and their motor boys along the port corridor.
“To the best of my knowledge, we did not print tickets to collect or extort money, and position on this is to ensure that the welfare of drivers is guaranteed,” he said.
“We established a monitoring unit to keep an eye on drivers’ welfare because the gridlock as it exists right now is uncontrollable by anyone. In order to take care of the drivers, we also printed tickets under the joint authority of MWUN and NARTO.
