After the dissolution, the former president allegedly sponsored a faction to take over the union, but was opposed by the workers. The sponsored faction, led by Onikolease Irabor, allegedly took weapons with them to compel dissenters of their sponsored clique into submission. In the process, they allegedly murdered Muyibi.
Four members of the Maritime Workers' Union, led by their President, Adewale Adeyanju on Friday, Feb. 27, attacked the son of a late unionist demanding investigation into death of his father, Ganiyu Muyibi, who was murdered during a union crisis fourteen years ago.
Muyibi was murdered in a union crisis in April of 2001, when unionists were said to be protesting the imposition of unpopular leadership on them by the administration of former president Olusegun Obasanjo. At the time, the workers' union was arbitrarily dissolved by Obasanjo due to protests by the workers' union against irrational privatization.
After the dissolution, the former president allegedly sponsored a faction to take over the union, but was opposed by the workers. The sponsored faction, led by Onikolease Irabor, allegedly took weapons with them to compel dissenters of their sponsored clique into submission. In the process, they allegedly murdered Muyibi.
Onikolase thereafter became president of the Union. The murder of Ganiyu Muyibi was ignored, and all calls for investigations and prosecutions failed.
Members of the union said Onikolease is connected to the current union president, Adewale Adeyanju. Muyibi family sources said Onikolease's clique, now operating through the union’s new leadership, has continued to frustrate efforts to obtain justice for the murdered Muyibi through corrupt political and social connections. In one instance, the family said the police had released an alleged culprit, citing an"order from above."
A civil society organization, the Center for Defense of Human Rights and Democracy in Africa (CDHRDA),working with the family, said they agreed to settle for an inquest since all efforts to get the culprits prosecuted were unsuccessful.
An inquest was inaugurated in Dec. 2014, and adjourned for Feb. 27 for a hearing. But the hearing was stalled when current president of the union, Adeyanju, and four other union executives mobbed the son of the deceased on the premises of the court before the hearing commenced. The attack forced the presiding magistrate, Ipaye Nwachukwu, to adjourn the hearing while the attackers were arrested and taken to Area F divisional police headquarters.
SaharaReporters learned that the persons arrested were asked for their statements at the police station, but were immediately released.
At press time, Professor Maurice Fagnon of CDHRDA said he, as well as other members of the organization, have been receiving threats from members of the union.