The Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, has alleged that he, his wife and son escaped an assassination attempt at about 4am on Tue
The Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, has alleged that he, his wife and son escaped an assassination attempt at about 4am on Tuesday. According to a statement by his Special Adviser on Media, Mr Uche Anichukwu, Ekweremadu said the armed men evaded the security of his Apo Legislative Quarters, Abuja residence to gain entry into his house.
The statement partly read, “The attackers, who could not immediately shoot in order not to attract the attention of the security personnel on duty, took hold of his son and commanded him to lead them to the Senator’s bedroom. It was at the Senator’s bedroom that a struggle ensued, leading to the arrest of one of the assailants with dangerous weapons and housebreaking devices, while the rest managed to escape.
The arrested member of the gang has, however, refused to divulge any information on the operation and has been handed over to the police. Ekweremadu, his wife, and one of his sons were in the house as of the time of the attack. Anichukwu recalled that Ekweremadu narrowly escaped an attempt on his life in Abuja on November 17, 2015. Although the 2015 incident was reported to the security agencies, nothing has been heard about the matter till date,” he alleged.
Speaking after the incident, Ekweremadu said the response of the police to the incident was poor. The lawmaker said the security of the citizens is not in the hands of government but God.
“We handed that one over to the police investigating the matter. The annoying aspect of it or the one that is worrisome is that at that point, I called the inspector-general of police (IGP), his phone was off. I called some of his aides, their phones rang out and nobody replied till now. I called DIG operations, till I left my house nobody showed up.
“I now had my people invite the DPO in charge of Apo police station. We didn’t see him till about 5:30, he sent his 2nd-in-command who came and he saw the dangerous weapons that they left behind, he left and said that the DPO was coming. Until I left my house by 9am, the DPO had not come. Nobody is safe in this country, I want to appeal to my colleagues and the general public that we all continue to be prayerful, be conscious of our private security, it appears that the security is not in the hands of government but the Almighty God.”
On his part, Senate President Bukola Saraki said the alleged poor response of the police is disturbing.
“It is unfortunate the security situation in Abuja. What is more disturbing is the poor response of the police. I hope the police is not being partisan with the way they treat cases,” Saraki said.
