…Absolves IPOB
The former Imo State Governor Ikedi Ohakim, and his two children has escaped an ambush by gunmen.
However, four policemen in his security detail are not that lucky as they fell to the gunmen bullet.
Ohakim
“I thought I was dead!” said Ohakim, Imo Governor from 2007 to 2011.
Ohakim, travelling in a convoy with two of his children in his bulletproof car, was returning from a private visit when the gunmen struck at Oriagu in the Ehime Mbano Local Government Area of the state on Monday evening.
Uzodimma appoints Ohakim, four others for Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu’s burial
His backup vehicle was hit by an explosive, leading to the death of four policemen in his convoy.
An aide said, “His Excellency was the main target but his driver was smart enough to beat them because they were driving to block him. Disappointed that their main target had escaped, they blocked his backup vehicle and burnt it. The four policemen with him burnt.”
According to Ohakim himself, the attackers were professionals.
As he narrated: “We were driving between Isiala Mbano and Ehime Mbano. These people blocked us at a place called Umualumaku.
“They attacked us from behind and were firing at our vehicles consistently. I thought I was a dead man and I was with two of my children – my son and daughter.
“What saved me was the bulletproof vehicle. That I am alive today is by the special grace of God and the bulletproof vehicle.
“But unfortunately for me they killed four of our boys, including the driver. Yes, we lost four of the boys and I am devastated. How can that be? What crime did they commit?”
Although his driver escaped from the hail of bullets, the assailants gave his vehicle a hot pursuit.
He continued: “They pursued us and continued firing at our tyres. Luckily, the vehicle has what is called run-flat tyres on which you can continue driving even after a puncture. So, even when they shot at the tyres hoping to immobilise us, the vehicle continued moving. If they were ordinary tyres and the vehicle had stopped, they would have cornered and finished us.
“But the tyres held on until we got back home. We drove for about 20 minutes before we got home. That was the saving grace.
“The driver who manifested tremendous level of driving skill kept manoeuvring until he lost them at a junction when he went right and not knowing where we had gone, they headed the other direction on the road to Umuahia.
“We then turned and went back to my house. We were there when Imo Government House sent reinforcement from Owerri who brought the corpses of my security people.”
He absolved the usual suspects, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
He submitted: “This goes beyond the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), I must say. These are professionals, well trained. They are not ordinary people. They were driving a blue colour BMW 5-series car, brand new. They came to kill me.
“I don’t know what this is all about. It is becoming terrible. Won’t people come home again? Are we going to stay in Owerri and Abuja permanently without coming back to our communities?”
