BEVERLY HILLS, July 30, (THEWILL) – Senator Dino Melaye, lawmaker representing Kogi West, has revealed that he ran into the bush and hid on a tree in a bid to escape when he was allegedly attacked by gunmen while travelling to Kogi state last Thursday.
Speaking in a chat with journalists in Abuja, Melaye said he observed a Toyota Sienna trailing him after he left Abuja for Lokoja where he was to attend a court hearing on the illegal arms possession charge filed against him saying the car overtook his, blocked him and started shooting at his vehicle.
“When I realised that they wanted to burn my vehicle, I quickly opened the car and ran into the bush. I had to run for my life. It was the grace of God that made me to escape,” he stated.
“When I got into the bush, I climbed a tree and stayed there. While on the tree, I saw two of the policemen coming to look for me but they didn’t know I was on the tree. I was in the bush for 11 hours.”
“My brother that was in one of the vehicles didn’t know what happened. So, he had to raise an alarm that I was kidnapped. He went to the Gwagwalada police station and reported the matter. At first, they wanted to act, but when one of them made a call, they started tossing my brother up and down.”
“They then asked him to go and wait for them at the scene, that they would join him. But he waited for more than 45 minutes, they didn’t come. So, it’s not true for the police to say that none of my family members reported the matter.”
“If anything happens to me, the Nigerian police and (Kogi state) Yahaya Bello should be held responsible.”
“I went through four assassination attempts as a senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, but the president remained silent. Definitely, I’m going to call the attention of the international community.”
“They withdrew my security since April 22, and I wrote the police to restore my security, but nothing was done. As a senator, I deserve security personnel around me. In fact, even as an ordinary citizen, I deserve security.”
THEWILL recalls that Melaye was one of the Senators who defected from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) last Tuesday.
About the Author
