Woman dies searching for abducted husband, family blames NURTW official

• They want to tarnish my reputation, says NURTW boss

The Olusegun family in Lagos is in mourning following the death of Rashida Olusegun, who collapsed while searching for her abducted husband, Bamidele Olusegun, also known as Alapa.

The mother of three reportedly slumped in Badagry and died after a fruitless search for Olusegun, said to be a former secretary of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Ijesha branch, Lagos, before he vanished.

Bamidele’s elder brother, Mr Alabi Oluwasegun, who spoke tearfully about the couple’s close relationship, said, “When we started looking for our brother, his wife was at the forefront. She went to all the police stations and correctional centres in Lagos.

“She also went to the Badagry Correctional Centre, where a man who knows her and her husband whispered to her that her husband was in ‘Potoki’ Island, Badagry, a dangerous island where kidnapped people were kept.

“The unnamed person also informed Rashida that a ransom had been paid for her husband’s assassination by the branch chairman of Ijesha NURTW, who felt that her husband was hindering his ambition of becoming the state chairman of the union.”

“The informant added that because they knew the abducted Bamidele, they didn’t want to kill him as planned, but because they had accepted money for his life, they decided to keep him on Potoki Island until he starved to death. It was at that point that she collapsed and died before medical help could reach her.”

Alabi added: “I was also an active member of NURTW Ijesha branch, but because of the terrorising activities of the Chairman, Tolulope Ajiboye, who sees anyone outspoken in the union as a threat, I had to resign and start my own business.”

Ajiboye denied the accusations when contacted: “I think they just want to tarnish my reputation. For almost a year now, I have been nursing and battling a leg injury sustained when I travelled to Abuja, the national secretariat of the union. I haven’t personally seen the man they are claiming I abducted for the past four years. He is no longer a member of our union.

“I heard he even came to the garage to spread rumours that I had been amputated. I didn’t abduct him when he was with us and misbehaving, so why would I abduct him now that he’s no longer with us?”

The NURTW boss added, “I hear he is now in Ibafo in Ogun State, where he stays in a hotel. The initial news we heard was that he was dead, but later, we heard that it was his wife who died after she went to Badagry and was told that her husband was being held at ‘Potoki’ Island. She died of shock.

“I am an ordinary branch chairman trying to provide for my family; I am not a kidnapper. Alapa and I are not involved in the same activities, so why would I kidnap him? They just want to tarnish my reputation, nothing more.”