Top newspaper report-How I escaped assassination attempt – Melaye

THE EXECUTIVE Secretary, Anti-corruption Network and former member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Dino Melaye, Monday night, in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, said he escaped assassination attempt as unidentified men in a black Golf car shot at his car.

Melaye, it was gathered, was coming from the National Hospital, Central Area, Abuja about 9:30 p.m. when suddenly the Golf car which had overtaken him, parked ahead of him and started shooting sporadically.

The sound of the sporadic gun shots, it was gathered, made him

to increase the speed of his car as he immediately drove to the nearby Police check point for safety and also to report the incident with the windscreen of his Bentley car badly shattered.

In an interview over the alleged attempt on his life, Melaye who expressed indignation over the alleged cold response by the Police at the check point towards his complaint to them, said it was the FCT Director of the Department of state security and an Assistant Commissioner of Police that came to his rescue.

He said that there were threats to his life before the incident and that he had reported the threat to the Inspector General of Police and had sought for police protection; though his letter was acknowledged, nothing had been done.

Giving account of what happened the Monday night, he sai: “Basically, I was coming from the National Hospital and I noticed shortly after the bridge before the ICPC, a certain black Golf car which got close and overtook me in a very dangerous manner.

“I had to stop for the car to drive far ahead before I continued. Shortly after ChurchGate Building I noticed the same car from afar parked by the end of the road with all the four doors opened and there was light inside but no one was inside.

“I was approaching a bend that will take you to the twin towers of the NNPC. At that point I just heard sporadic shooting, maybe to the air or whatever. I accelerated my drive. As I was approaching the last bend I just heard gun shot at my car.

“At that point, I ran to the next police checkpoint. I told them to make a radio call that I had just escaped an assassination attempt and that the assailants were in a Golf car and that they should block all routes.

“Unfortunately, the police said where the incident happened was not their beat. I said you are a federal police, okay, make a radio call that this is the complaint so that the police around there can cordon that area off, but they did not.”