Toba Ijaya: The Rise And Fall Of Lagos Street Warlord

The assassination of Toba Ajiboye, the Organising Secretary of the Lagos State National Union of Road Transport Workers, has reopened old wounds and revived questions about the violent underworld of motor park politics. In this gripping feature, Daniel Ayantoye traces the rise and fall of the controversial street warlord and the alleged betrayal that led to his death

Tears flowed freely on Tuesday as hundreds of family members, colleagues, friends and supporters gathered in Fadeyi, Lagos, to bid farewell to the Lagos State Organising Secretary of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, Toba Ajiboye, popularly known as Toba Ijaya.

Like prominent leaders of the NURTW including Femi Jplum, Kunle Poly, MC Oluomo, and Mustapha Sego, Ajiboye was regarded as one of the influential figures in the transport union hierarchy. However, his journey ended not in the bustle of a motor park, but in a burial attended by mourners struggling to come to terms with his violent death.

Viral videos showed an emotional crowd surrounding his remains, many overcome with grief as they paid their last respects.

How Ajiboye fell

Ajiboye, also known as Ikoko Ajegunjeran (the hyena that crushes bones and meat) or Baba Esu (Satan’s father), did not die like a normal death.

His death arrived with the precision of a carefully planned execution: a hail of bullets, panicked screams and fleeing bystanders.

 

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He was ambushed on Sunday, July 12, by unidentified gunmen in the Fadeyi area of Lagos, and his vehicle riddled with bullets.

Ajiboye later succumbed to his injuries, which brought a sudden end to the life of one of the union’s most powerful leaders.

For a man whose name inspired fear across motor parks and political circles, the manner of his killing echoed the violent settling of scores more often associated with ruthless cartels on the streets of Lagos.

Many observers noted that, in the end, the empire he spent years building could not shield him from the violence that had long shadowed his rise.

It was said that his final moments bore the unmistakable signature of an execution designed not merely to kill but to send a message.

His death ended a reign that had earned him loyal followers, powerful allies and dangerous enemies alike.

A betrayal?

Speaking exclusively to sources close to the slain Ajiboye, Saturday PUNCH gathered details that paint a picture of what appears to have been a coordinated plot.

Punch’s correspondent learnt that a bricklayer, identified simply as Oke, who had previously worked for the slain 43-year-old union secretary, allegedly monitored his movements and passed information to the gunmen who ambushed and killed him along the Ikorodu Road corridor.

A source close to the deceased said Oke was someone Ajiboye trusted and employed for construction work.

According to him, Oke tracked his movements while feeding real-time information to those said to be waiting to strike.

“On Sunday, Toba came to see some elderly people and parked outside. The informant took pictures of the front and back of his vehicle and sent them to people waiting on the expressway.

“He also sent a voice note informing them that Toba was alone with his driver and would soon come out. Toba came out and even gave him N5,000, not knowing that he was there to monitor him,” the source said.

He further claimed that detectives later arrested Oke and his wife.

“The bricklayer was arrested the following night. That was when we learnt what happened. They also identified another person called Ogere, who participated, but he has fled,” the source added.

Saturday PUNCH also learnt that another individual, identified simply as Suko, and alleged to have financed parts of the operation, had fled out of Nigeria.

Adding another layer to the unfolding investigation, a voice note played to Punch’s correspondent by the source appeared to capture a conversation in which an unidentified caller informed another person that Ajiboye was about to leave the premises he had gone to visit.

The voice note suggested his movements were being monitored until moments before the fatal ambush.

How attack happened

According to another source, the operation began shortly after Ajiboye left his residence on Ereko Street, Fadeyi.

Unaware that he was under surveillance, the transport union leader set off with only his driver.

The source said the assailants tailed the vehicle, waiting for the right moment to strike.

“The driver noticed another vehicle trying to overtake them and mentioned it to Toba. He said it looked like the occupants were in a hurry and wanted to pass. Toba told him to allow them through, not knowing that they were trying to position themselves for the attack,” the source said.

Within moments, the attackers swerved across their vehicle, blocking its path before unleashing a volley of bullets at the side where Ajiboye was seated.

He sustained gunshot injuries and was rushed to the hospital, where he died on Tuesday, July 14.

Community mourns

When Saturday PUNCH visited Fadeyi on Wednesday, an uneasy calm hung over the neighbourhood.

Police patrol vehicles were stationed at strategic points, while armed officers maintained a visible presence around the community.

The usually bustling streets, where commercial motorcycles, tricycles and buses compete for space from dawn till dusk, had fallen unusually quiet.

Residents stood in small clusters, speaking in hushed tones as they reflected on the killing of one of the area’s most influential and polarising figures.

To many of his supporters, Ajiboye was a philanthropist and community leader, who provided jobs, settled disputes and came to the aid of residents in difficult times.

Residents, who spoke separately with Saturday PUNCH, described his death as a devastating loss.

A commercial tricycle rider, Yusuf Akinwale, fought back tears as he pointed to the vehicle he said Ajiboye bought for him.

“He gave me this tricycle and helped me several times with different kinds of support. We have lost a helper,” he said.

A trader, Bolaji Odekunle, said Ajiboye rarely turned away those who sought his assistance.

“He paid children’s school fees, settled house rents and supported naming ceremonies. If you entered his house crying, you would leave with a smile,” she said.

For Babatunde Adebayo, a commercial driver, Ajiboye’s greatest legacy was restoring peace to a once-volatile community.

“Fadeyi was a very tough area before. He calmed the area and brought an end to hooliganism because he gave jobs to many boys. You hardly hear of fights here again,” he said.

A landlord, Odukoya Bosun, also described him as a benefactor who organised annual community events and regularly supported residents facing hardship.

The rise of Ajiboye

Born in Kabba, Kogi State, Ajiboye’s rise to prominence followed a path few could have predicted.

He attended Nigeria Model School in Lagos and later earned a National Diploma from Yaba College of Technology.

But it was not the classroom that shaped his influence. It was the unforgiving streets of Fadeyi, where he learnt carpentry under his father before gradually building the network, loyalty and street capital that would later make him one of the most recognisable figures in Lagos’ transport union politics.

From his early days in the Oodua Peoples Congress, where he forged alliances and earned a reputation as a grassroots mobiliser, Ajiboye steadily expanded his influence.

He later crossed into the National Union of Road Transport Workers, climbing from an ordinary member to unit chairman before emerging as the organising secretary, a position that placed him among the union’s most influential power brokers.

A former OPC colleague and the group’s secretary, Adewale Yunus, described Ajiboye as one of the pillars of the OPC under the leadership of Chief Gani Adams.

“When OPC was still in full operation, he was one of the major pillars of Gani Adams. During communal challenges, people stood with him. When God raised him up, he decided to give back to society,” Yunus said.

According to him, Ajiboye later transferred the influence he had built on the streets into the transport union, where he consolidated his position and established the Toba Ajiboye Foundation, using it to provide financial support, scholarships and other humanitarian assistance to residents.

Yunus also explained the origin of Ajiboye’s nickname, Ijaya a jegun jeran, loosely translated as “the fearsome man who eats bones and meat.”

“They gave him that name because anyone with bad intentions would run away. It does not mean he eats human bones or meat,” he said.

The street warlord

Yet, the glowing tributes from supporters and friends tell only one side of Ajiboye’s story.

To those who lived through the bloody turf wars that periodically engulfed Fadeyi, his name often surfaced in conversations about the fierce struggle for dominance that defined the area for years.

The Mushin-Fadeyi corridor has long been a battleground where transport union politics, street influence, cult rivalries, collection of tolls and political interests intersect, with periodic eruptions of violence leaving scores dead and communities living in fear.

Ajiboye’s name repeatedly featured in public allegations, police investigations and social media claims linking him to some of the violence.

Court records show that in 2014, Ajiboye was arraigned alongside Adigun Oriyomi and others over their alleged involvement in killings connected to violence in Mushin.

One of the charges reported by PUNCH Metro read, “That you, Toba Ajiboye, Adigun Oriyomi and others at large, being members of an unlawful society, on February 10, 2014, at Ewenla Street, Mushin, did unlawfully kill one Muninat Agbabiaka.”

Oriyomi was eventually convicted only for the killing of his friend, Femi Adekeye, while the remaining allegations failed for lack of sufficient evidence.

Oriyomi, who faced charges for a series of murder, was convicted based on the testimony of his friend’s daughter who witnessed the incident.

Some members of Ajiboye’s group, who were protesting his arraignment and the refusal of the All Progressives Congress to effect his release at the time, had a confrontation with members of a rival faction. The rival gang was said to be backing the Peoples Democratic Party at the time.

The clash between the rival gangs over the arraignment led to the killing of two people.

For decades, the area witnessed recurring clashes involving the rival factions for territorial control and dominance within the transport sector.

In one of the most gruesome incidents recorded in the area, police recovered the severed head of a 28-year-old man, Ibikunle Tunde, following a cult clash in 2014.

A source familiar with the community, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said the assassination of Ajiboye could be linked to the feud.

“The Fadeyi gang war has been going on for years. This may not be unconnected with reprisal,” the source said.

A Facebook user, Mutyhullahi Adesola, wrote, “Karma is always lurking in the corner for every action.”

However, some social media users also speculated that Ajiboye’s death could be linked to the April 2026 killing of a suspected Buccaneers member known as Agali.

A source confirmed the link to the murder of Agali.

“It is believed that he was assassinated over the murder of Agali in Surulere. They believe that the assailants ran to his place and he shielded them.” the source added.

The Chairman of Fadeyi Motor Park, Alhaji Bariu Ibrahim, popularly known as Ofelohun, dismissed suggestions that Ajiboye deserved a violent end, insisting that despite his intimidating reputation, he had embraced peace.

Speaking with Saturday PUNCH, Ibrahim said Ajiboye refused to move around with armed escorts because he believed he had no enemies.

He said, “Now that he has said fighting should stop and nobody should fight again, you have now killed him. He does not have bad things in his hand. If not, they would not have been able to kill him.

“We told him to use security, but he refused. He said he did not do anything to anybody. Why should he be afraid?”

He added that Ajiboye regularly fed hundreds of people throughout Ramadan, donated rams during Eid-el-Kabir and rarely turned away anyone who sought his help.

The Lagos State NURTW Chairman, Mustapha Adekunle, popularly known as Sego, described Ajiboye as a trusted friend, loyal ally and a pillar of TeamSego and SegoNation.

Olusegun Adesanya, who said he had known Ajiboye for about 18 years, said he was a courageous leader whose influence extended beyond the transport union.

“We have seen too many deaths in the same pattern. Government needs to bring the transport union under proper regulation,” he said.

A top leader of the NURTW, Femi Jplum, described Ajiboye as a friend, adding that his life was cut short.

“He was a man who gave to people. He supported widows and many underprivileged people through his foundation. He will be sorely missed,” he told Saturday PUNCH.

Videos from Ajiboye’s final public appearances, widely shared after his death, showed him surrounded by admirers at social gatherings as musicians and entertainers openly praised him.

Gani Adams demands probe

The Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland and leader of the Oodua Peoples Congress, Chief Gani Adams, called for a comprehensive investigation into Ajiboye’s assassination.

Adams also distanced himself from allegations linking the slain transport union leader to killings and other criminal activities.

Speaking with Saturday PUNCH, he described Ajiboye as a dependable associate.

“Toba was a reliable comrade. He was very straightforward and very honest. It is unfortunate we lost him, and it was very painful when I heard that news,” Adams said.

Responding to allegations that Ajiboye was involved in violent crimes, Adams said he had no personal knowledge of such claims.

“I don’t know about that because I have limited familiarity with that environment. I appeal to the Lagos State Police Command to unravel the people who killed him. When someone dies, you will hear information that is not correct and does not tally with the attitude and character of such a person.”

When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, Lagos State Command, Abimbola Adebisi said investigation was ongoing.

“If there is any update, the command will make it public,” she added.

Culled from the Punch 

Categories: Metro