How I Escaped Death - Ex-Imo gov, Ohakim
A former Imo state governor, Ikedi Ohakim, has told how he escaped death by a hair's breadth during his meeting with gunmen on Monday.
The PUNCH reports that the former one-term governor was attacked by gunmen in Ehime Mbano Local Government Area in Imo State, and that four people of his entourage would have been killed.
Recounting his ordeal, Ohakim said his armored vehicle and driver who used his skills saved him and his children from armed killers.
"We were driving between Isiala Mbano and Ehime Mbano. These people blocked us at a place called Umualumaku.
"They attacked us from behind and constantly fired at our vehicles. I thought I was a dead man and I was with two of my children - my son and my daughter.
"What saved me was the armored vehicle. That I am alive today is by the special grace of God and the armored vehicle.
"But unfortunately for me, they killed four of our boys, including the driver. Yes, we lost four of the boys and I'm devastated. How is that possible? What crime did they commit?" Ohakim told The NICHE in a Monday night phone interview.
He added: "They chased us and kept shooting at our tyres. Fortunately, the vehicle has what are called run-flat tires that you can keep driving on even after a flat tire. So even when they pulled on the tires in hopes of stopping us, the vehicle continued to move. If they were regular tires and the vehicle had stopped, they would have cornered us and would have finished us off.
"But the tires held up until we got home. We rode for about 20 minutes before we got home. That was saving grace."
"The driver, who showed an exceptional level of driving, continued to maneuver until he lost them at a junction where he went right and not knowing where we had gone, they headed the other way on the road to Umuahia.
“We then turned around and went back to my house. We were there when Imo government house sent reinforcements from Owerri who brought the bodies of my security guards.
“It goes beyond the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) I have to say. They are professional, well trained. They are not ordinary people. They were driving a brand new, blue colored BMW 5 series . They came to kill me."
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A former Imo state governor, Ikedi Ohakim, has told how he escaped death by a hair's breadth during his meeting with gunmen on Monday.
The PUNCH reports that the former one-term governor was attacked by gunmen in Ehime Mbano Local Government Area in Imo State, and that four people of his entourage would have been killed.
Recounting his ordeal, Ohakim said his armored vehicle and driver who used his skills saved him and his children from armed killers.
"We were driving between Isiala Mbano and Ehime Mbano. These people blocked us at a place called Umualumaku.
"They attacked us from behind and constantly fired at our vehicles. I thought I was a dead man and I was with two of my children - my son and my daughter.
"What saved me was the armored vehicle. That I am alive today is by the special grace of God and the armored vehicle.
"But unfortunately for me, they killed four of our boys, including the driver. Yes, we lost four of the boys and I'm devastated. How is that possible? What crime did they commit?" Ohakim told The NICHE in a Monday night phone interview.
He added: "They chased us and kept shooting at our tyres. Fortunately, the vehicle has what are called run-flat tires that you can keep driving on even after a flat tire. So even when they pulled on the tires in hopes of stopping us, the vehicle continued to move. If they were regular tires and the vehicle had stopped, they would have cornered us and would have finished us off.
"But the tires held up until we got home. We rode for about 20 minutes before we got home. That was saving grace."
"The driver, who showed an exceptional level of driving, continued to maneuver until he lost them at a junction where he went right and not knowing where we had gone, they headed the other way on the road to Umuahia.
“We then turned around and went back to my house. We were there when Imo government house sent reinforcements from Owerri who brought the bodies of my security guards.
“It goes beyond the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) I have to say. They are professional, well trained. They are not ordinary people. They were driving a brand new, blue colored BMW 5 series . They came to kill me."
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