Posted by By Geoffrey Anyanwu, Awka on
But for the miraculous hands of God that pushed him into an erosion gully, the member representing Orumba North and South Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives, Chief Ben Nwankwo would have been a dead man now, as a four-man gang of suspected assassins attacked and shot at him on Sunday evening.
But for the miraculous hands of God that pushed him into an erosion gully, the member representing Orumba North and South Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives, Chief Ben Nwankwo would have been a dead man now, as a four-man gang of suspected assassins attacked and shot at him on Sunday evening.
Chief Nwankwo, who Monday morning was still in a private hospital, however, lost his handsets, travelling bags, money and documents to the gang.
The lawmaker who was recently sworn in after two years legal battle to recover his mandate, was attacked at Ndikelionwu, a community in Orumba North local government, about 25 minutes to his home town Akpu, in Orumba South between 3 and 3.30pm.
Narrating his ordeal to Daily Sun Monday morning at the hospital, Nwankwo, whom the Medical Director of the hospital, Dr. Ernest Ifedi said was responding to treatment, confessed that his escape from the gunmen was a great miracle.
According to him, "it happened at about 3.30 pm at Ndikelionwu in Orumba North Local Government of Anambra State. Ndikelionwu is also part of Orumba North and South Federal Constituency which I represent in the National Assembly. I was driving home from a visit to the constituency to see the on-going road project in the area and make further familiarisation visit.
"As I stopped at Ndike, greeting people and also to see the ongoing project by SETRACO, about four armed men alighted from a V-boot car with AK7 rifles and ordered us to lie down. All of us obeyed. I lay beside a bush and the commander ordered me out saying that I am the person they were looking for. He made the statement two times; and warned that if I made any further move I will be shot.
"I was spurred by the statement to make an attempt to escape, which landed me into a deep erosion gully, tumbling many times into the depth. They were firing after me but miraculously, I was not hit."
The lawmaker who could not specifically say if the attack was an assassination bid or not, is, however, worried over the statement of the leader of the four-man gang who said he was the person they were looking for.
The lawmaker noted that a combination of bad road and epileptic power supply as is the case in his constituency promotes crime and urged to the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Felix Ogbaudu, to reposition security operatives in the two local governments which are border councils.
Meanwhile, the Police have confirmed the attacked and commenced investigation. The image-maker Mr. Kolapo Shofoluwe said Mr. Ogbaudu who, in company of his Area Commanders visited the lawmaker in the hospital on Monday had directed the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to take over the case.