A lawmaker in Akwa Ibom State has narrated how he escaped from gunmen whom he said attempted to abduct him.
Usoroh Akpanusoh, the member representing Esit Eket/Ibeno State Constituency in Akwa Ibom House of Assembly, said the suspected kidnappers dragged his driver out of the car before they came after him.
He said two people were killed during the incident which happened on November 4.
Mr Akpanusoh, who is from Uquo, a riverine community in Akwa Ibom, narrated the incident to reporters in Uyo on Saturday.
“I was at a traditional marriage for about 40 minutes, then I decided to leave. While entering my car, I noticed that there was a Nissan Sony car blocking my car from going out. Immediately, I saw a young man with an AK-47 who was shooting in the air.
“I thought he was a police officer because he dressed like a policeman. At the same time, I was conscious of the fact that there was no police presence when I came in.
“Unfortunately, it turned out to be a group of young men who are kidnappers, and I may like to even say that it was an attempted assassination on my life.
“At a point, they dragged my driver out of the car and turned to my side, opened the door and tried to force me out of the car but I resisted and the community people also came upon them,” he said.
The lawmaker said he escaped from the men after some struggling.
“When the community saw that there was a dead body on the ground, everybody started to run for their lives.
“So we struggled and struggled, as God would have it, I was able to escape from the hands of the kidnappers.”
Mr Akpanusoh said after he left the community, he was told that the suspected kidnappers killed one person on the spot while another that was shot later died in the hospital.
Mr Akpanusoh said he has reported the incident to the state commissioner of police, and that the incident must have been politically motivated.
A youth from the area, Emem James, corroborated what the lawmaker said.
Mr James gave the identity of the person who died on the spot as Raphael Emmanuel whom he said is his father-in-law.
Another youth from the area, Ubong Dan, who said he witnessed the incident, identified the second victim as Eniefiok.
“The one that died on the spot, his name is Rafael Friday Emmanuel. The other one is Enefiok, but I don’t know his full name,” he said.
The police spokesperson in the state, Odiko MacDon, said he was not aware of the case. He said the police would investigate the incident if a report has been filed.
Nwachineke Onyeke Chekwube reporting, Obinwannem news writer/November 10, 2021
