Dino Melaye, embattled Senator representing Kogi West District at the Nigerian national assembly, has given more insight into how he escaped from gunmen who attacked him last week in Gwagwalada, Abuja.
Speaking with newsmen in Abuja on Sunday, the lawmaker said he hid in a tree after he was attacked by the gunmen while travelling to his state.
Melaye said he observed a Toyota Sienna trailing him after he left Abuja for Lokoja where he was to attend a court hearing on the illegal arms possession charge filed against him.
He narrated that the Toyota Sienna overtook him, blocked and started shooting at his vehicle.
Melaye said two policemen came into the bush in search of him, but they didn’t realise he was on the tree.
He said: “When I realised that they wanted to burn my vehicle, I quickly opened the car and ran into the bush. I had to run for my life. It was the grace of God that made me to escape. When I got into the bush, I climbed a tree and stayed there. While on the tree, I saw two of the policemen coming to look for me but they didn’t know I was on the tree. I was in the bush for 11 hours.
“My brother that was in one of the vehicles didn’t know what happened. So, he had to raise an alarm that I was kidnapped. He went to the Gwagwalada police station and reported the matter. At first, they wanted to act, but when one of them made a call, they started tossing my brother up and down.
“They then asked him to go and wait for them at the scene, that they would join him. But he waited for more than 45 minutes, they didn’t come. So, it’s not true for the police to say that none of my family members reported the matter.”
He also claimed that the Nigeria Police Force and Governor of the State, Yahaya Bello should be held responsible if anything happened to him.
Melaye berated President Muhammadu Buhari over his silence in the face of four assassination attempts on his life.
He said, “If anything happens to me, the Nigerian police and (Kogi state) Yahaya Bello should be held responsible.
“I went through four assassination attempts as a senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, but the president remained silent. Definitely, I’m going to call the attention of the international community.
“They withdrew my security since April 22, and I wrote the police to restore my security, but nothing was done. As a senator, I deserve security personnel around me. In fact, even as an ordinary citizen, I deserve security.” (Daily Post)