FAMILY, COLLEAGUES BID FAREWELL TO SLAIN LAGOS NURTW CHIEFTAIN TOBA AJIBOYE

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By Aishat Momoh. O.

Family members, colleagues, friends and supporters on Tuesday gathered in Ketu, Lagos, to pay their last respects to the late Organising Secretary of the Lagos State chapter of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Toba Ajiboye, popularly known as Toba Ijaya.

The union leader was laid to rest amid emotional scenes, with videos circulating on social media showing large crowds of mourners bidding him a final farewell.

Ajiboye died after succumbing to gunshot injuries sustained when unidentified gunmen attacked his vehicle in the Fadeyi area of Lagos on Sunday evening.

The Lagos State Police Command had earlier confirmed the incident and launched a manhunt for those behind the attack.

The command’s spokesperson, Abimbola Adebisi, said investigations were ongoing to identify and apprehend the assailants.

According to sources familiar with the incident, Ajiboye had visited Fadeyi to see childhood friends before he was attacked while leaving the area.

“He had visited the area on Sunday as he regularly did because that was where he grew up. He was leaving that evening when some gunmen shot at his vehicle. He was rushed to the hospital, and we believed he was responding to treatment until we were informed that he didn’t make it,” a source said.

A member of the union, Taofeek, disclosed that three other occupants of Ajiboye’s vehicle also sustained gunshot wounds during the attack and remain hospitalised.

“There were about three other people in the vehicle. They also sustained gunshot wounds. Their condition is very serious, and doctors are battling to save them. We pray that they survive,” he said.

Photographs and videos shared online after the attack showed the late union leader’s vehicle riddled with bullet holes.

Reacting to the killing, the Chairman of the Lagos State NURTW, Mustapha Adekunle, popularly known as Sego, described Ajiboye as a loyal ally, dependable friend and committed union leader whose dedication to the transport union would be remembered.

In a tribute shared on Facebook, Adekunle said the late Ajiboye was “a trusted friend, a man of steadfast loyalty and unwavering commitment, and a true pillar of TeamSego and SegoNation.”

Meanwhile, Ajiboye’s death has continued to generate mixed reactions on social media, with many mourning him as a committed union leader and community benefactor, while others argued that his legacy could not be separated from longstanding controversies surrounding transport union activities in Lagos.

The motive behind the attack has yet to be established as police investigations continue.