- * Uba Allegedly Escapes In Bullet Proof Car
- Atiku Condemns Attack On Lawmaker
By Rose Nwankwu (Anambra State Correspondent)
Tragedy struck on Sunday at Nkwo Enugu-Ukwu, in Njikoka Local Government Area of Anambra state, as unknown gunmen suspected to be hired Assassins reportedly attacked the convoy of Senator Patrick Ifeanyi Ubah, the Chairman of Capital Oils Limited and Senator representing Anambra South Senatorial District.
NIGERIAN NEWSLEADER Correspondent gathered in Awka, Anambra state capital, late Sunday evening, September 11, 2022, that the said gunmen killed over four policemen, some escort officers and aides of the lawmaker. Uba's police escort, before they were overpowered in a fierce gun exchange, returned fire against the assailants.
It was not clear at the time of filling this report on Sunday night, however, if Senator Ifeanyi Uba sustained any injury as he was said to have luckily escaped in his bullet proof SUV car. The bloody gun attacks shattered the windscreen of some of the SUV jeeps and also badly damaged some of the security patrol trucks on the convoy.
Eyewitnesses account, revealed that the attackers had painstakingly trailed Senator Uba's convoy upto the point where they allegedly ambushed and unleashed a violent onslaught on his entourage. They gunmen were said to have double-crossed the convoy before opening fire, leaving several casualties at the end of their bloody operation.
“I was driving up to that spot from the link road to the express when some people in a shop shouted at me and asked me to turn back and take another road, which I did”, the eyewitness said.
A social media trending video recorded clips of the bloody scene where some liveless bodies and seriously wounded occupants in the security pick-up back seat and inside the cars of the convoy were shown.
Senator Ifeanyi Uba's Media Aide, Kameh Ogbonna, however confirmed the incident to Journalists, explaining that the attack was an orchestrated pre-meditated assassination attempt.
Ogbonna also disclosed that it was a surprise attack, which, if not for the bullet-proof car the Senator rode in, the gunmen would have successfully taken him out.
“If not for the bullet-proof Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV), the Senator was riding in, he would have been dead by now", said Ogbonna, adding that, “This is a premeditated attempt on the life of the Senator Representing Anambra South Senatorial District, Dr. Ifeanyi Ubah.
“We were passing Enugwu Ukwu junction when they hit us from the front and back, and from all sides. As I speak with you, Obum, the personal aide to the senator is dead and about seven security operatives were hit by the assassin's bullets and they may have died,” the media aide stated.
A commentator who refused to give his name but who claimed to have witnessed the operation, told NIGERIAN NEWSLEADER Correspondent on her arrival at scene of the incident at Enugu-Ukwu, that he was deeply terrified at the level of bestiality of the attacks, stating further that the style of the assault indicates it was evidently pre-planned.
"I presume those guys were rented gunmen. They were very dangerous marksmen, from what l saw. I should think they were actually gunning for Senator Uba's head. The man was very lucky. I learnt, at the scene, that the gunmen had advance information about the time of Senator Uba's movement and takeoff of his travel team.
"In all, l counted about five policemen alone that were felled by the bullets. There were other victims too. The gunmen quickly collected the weapons of those dead policemen. The attackers were indeed many. I can't say the exact number. But the boy were many, very menacing. And their operation was swift and clinical", he stated.
As at the time of NEWSLEADER Correspondent at the Enugu-Ukwu scene of the attack, policemen and other security operatives had cordoned off the area. Some interviewees told the Correspondent of this newspaper that the shooting caused heavy pandemonium as fear-stricken spectators scampered towards different directions for personal safety until the gunmen left the spot. People were however seen hurdled in groups discussing the incident.
However, the Anambra State Police Command have reacted to the incident. The Command's Spokesman, DSP Ikenga Tochukwu, confirmed the attack on Sunday. He said that the State Commissioner of Police, Mr Echeng Echeng, led police officers to the scene of attack, adding that security operatives had taken over the environment.
He confirmed that there was heavy shooting at an area in Enugwu Ukwu by gunmen where some injuries were recorded but that though the information available to the Police Command at the time was still very unclear.
The Command spokesman, Ikenga Tochukwu, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, however refused to disclose the actual figure of those killed in the gun attack. He said he will speak more during a press briefing much later, after more findings.
Meanwhile, moments after the news of the attack on Senator Ifeanyi Uba's broke out, former Vice President of Nigeria and a 2023 Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, issued a public condemnation of the tragic incident on social media.
Atiku, posted on his twitter handle on Sunday, that, "The attack on the convoy of Senator @Dr_IfeanyiUbah stands condemned. My condolences go to the families of those injured and killed in the attack. I share my sympathy with the Distinguished Senator. May the souls of the departed Rest In Peace". NNL.
