Posted by By GODDY OSUJI, Enugu on
Dr. Kenneth Ofokansi, a lecturer at the Department of Pharmaceutics, University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) has every cause to glorify God for saving his life from the hands of assassins.
Dr. Kenneth Ofokansi, a lecturer at the Department of Pharmaceutics, University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) has every cause to glorify God for saving his life from the hands of assassins.
Ofokansi said that on that fateful day, just 19 days to his wedding, he was cruising to his St. Cyprians Teachers' Training College, Nsukka residence when suddenly he noticed from his side mirror that a Mercedez car with three occupants was fast trailing him.
Not sensing any danger, he slowed down to allow the car pass, "no sooner than the car drove past than it abruptly stopped in front of me and a young man in mufti stepped out from the rear door, brandishing a gun and immediately signaled me to park.
"Having sensed danger, I disregarded his signal and continued. It was at this point of driving past them that I looked into the Mercedez and recognized the man driving the car as one Rowland who happened to be one of our students who paid me a visit sometime and threatened me in the presence of my wife and two other students.
"I therefore increased my speed in order to gain some edge over them and quickly negotiated a round-about and branched off into a street as fast as I could. I stopped and decided to complete the race on foot. No sooner had I done that than the vehicle caught up with me, forcing me to run into the bush, scaling a high wall and falling into a compound where one Emmanuel hid me."
The rest of what happened thereafter was unknown to Ofokansi who was helped to recover his car later by a friend. Ironically, the two others that went on the mission to eliminate the Anambra State-born lecturer, Michael Emerenini and Romanus Peter were mobile policemen enlisted to carry out the dastardly act. They were arrested with the help of people. One of the policemen escaped and has not been seen, while others were given orderly room trial and later discharged from service and charged to court.
A police investigation proved that Rowland went after the lecturer to kidnap and kill him. The report further indicted the mobile police unit "that after a month of his (Pc Ezekiel Swan) abandoning the job, his squadron has not taken any disciplinary action against him".
The three accused persons appeared at Nsukka High Court on June 20, charged with assassination attempt. No plea was, however, taken because of lack of security and they were remanded in prison custody.
Dr. Ofokansi told Daily Sun at the court premises that he believed that a dispassionate trial of the accused persons would provide a veritable opportunity for the judiciary to put an end to the era of terrorism and brigandage in the universities in Enugu State and Nigeria in general.