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Title: Assassination Attempt : Why Police Must Interrogate Ikpeazu – Alex Otti
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Penultimate Friday, Dr. Alex Otti, the governorship candidate of the All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA, in the Abia State election...

Penultimate Friday, Dr. Alex Otti, the governorship candidate of the All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA, in the Abia State election, raised the alarm that an attempt was made on his life. This generated so much heat in the state with the Abia State Government taking him on and pooh-poohing the allegation.
In this interview with JIDE AJANI, EDITOR  and OLALEKAN BILESANMI, Dr. Otti laments that he is at a loss as to the interest of the state government in the matter, especially since he did not point any accusing finger at anybody.
According to him, the police are aware of what happened with the attendant killing of a police guard on duty at the residence where the attackers struck. In fact, he showed photographs of the lifeless body of the policeman in a pool of blood. He was shot in the head.In the photographs, you could see blood on the floor of the house – the images are too gory to be reproduced here. 
  And because of on-going investigations by the police, the identity of the dead is still being kept under wraps. But the interview as not all about the assassination attempt. He also speaks about the parlous state of finances of the Abia and why the people of the state should not allow their future and those of generations unborn, to be mortgaged. Excerpts: Last week, there was a story about an attempted assassination on your life. What really happened?
I had been away in the U.S.
I returned to the country last (penultimate) Saturday and I went to Abuja.
I was in Abuja from that  Monday  till the early hours of  Thursday.
From there I went to Umuahia  on Friday.
As early as 3.30/4am  that  Friday, the cook in the residence where I stay in Abuja called to alert my personal assistant that there were some unknown gun men who scaled the fence from the back of the house and entered into the premises.
He said they shot one of the police guards in the compound, and he died instantly.
Thereafter, he said they went straight to my own apartment, ransacked everywhere and turned the place upside down.
Of course, I was not there.
He said they then went to the other wing of the duplex which also has an office and ransacked it too.
Did they steal or cart away anything?
Not even a pin was taken.

Nothing at all?
Nothing! So, it was very clear to me that they were hired assassins.
What I did was to call a press conference mid-way during the recess at the tribunal sitting in Umuahia – that was during the one hour break of the tribunal so I quickly used the opportunity to address the press, that same  Friday, July 24.
I alerted the general public that some people made an attempt but thank God I was not available to be killed.
I also disclosed that a policeman was murdered in cold blood – I was very shocked first and foremost that someone was killed. It was one of the guards that had been with me all week.

Did you point accusing fingers while you did the briefing?
A day later,  Saturday, in the evening, I saw an online report that the governor had issued a press statement.    To my consternation, the statement said that what happened in Abuja was a robbery event; that they had checked and it didn’t happen in my place but another compound and that the person that was killed was not attached to me.

The apartment you were referring to, is it rented or your private property?
The place was given to me by a friend. The duplex used to be his own guest house before he went abroad. So, in the last two years, the place has been vacant. Since I left the bank around November last year, he just called me and said he gave me one of the wings so that anytime I am coming to Abuja I could stay there instead of staying in hotels.

One of the curious things about the statement from the government of Abia State – mind you I did not mention any name nor did I point any accusing fingers just as I was very careful not to give out too much personal information – was that the government gave the name of the place where the incident happened.    The statement said it was Nestoil but in my press statement, I didn’t mention that because the police was still investigating and I didn’t think it was proper. Even in the press interview, I was asked if I suspected anybody and I said I didn’t suspect anybody because I believe that the police will delve into the matter thoroughly and they will come up with the culprits and whoever sent them. That was my comment and it is still there in the public domain. You can go and check.

With your petition against the incumbent governor still on at the tribunal and your press briefing during the break could have suggested that ….?
Look, I was surprised to read what they were saying, that I was whipping up sentiment….

That’s exactly the point I was trying to make?
Somebody was killed.    A life was lost. Sentiments?
They said I wanted to give an impression that Abia State was unsafe in order to actualize my desire to move the tribunal sitting from Umuahia to Abuja. And I wondered what sense that makes. The attack was in Abuja. If I wanted the sitting to be moved to Abuja I should not be claiming that there was an attack in Abuja.
I think the government statement was hurriedly put together and they didn’t really spare a thought for it, otherwise, it does not make sense. I was amazed that somebody of my calibre would be attacked and the sympathy word I would get from my governor is that I was lying.
He concluded his investigation 24 hours after the event happened.
He arrogated to himself the role of the policemen investigating the case, the Inspector General of Police, the spokesperson of the force and even the commissioner of police in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT. I was very, very shocked that they could be making such statement.
Again yesterday (Thursday), they reported that the governor said I was raising false alarm. But, it didn’t matter that a soul was lost. A bread winner, a father!
What stage is the police investigation now?
They have taken all the statements and samples, because there were quite a lot of blood stains in the place. They are investigating. I think it was assigned to experts, the CID. So, with the way they are going, I believe they are going to be able to come up with some form of information very soon.
There was another thing that shocked me, that was  on Tuesday. The state chairman of the party, that is PDP, took a page in a national daily and titled it, “Exposed, the antics of a drowning man”.
I was really shocked. He said in the publication that he had gone round all the police stations in Abuja between  Friday  and  Tuesday, and no one confirmed to him that such a thing happened and reported, that it was not true; that if it was true, I would have gone to the police. This is a lawyer and as such, he should know better.
A matter that obviously has nothing to do with him, going to the police station, he thinks they will just volunteer information to him? I am quite disappointed that he would make that kind of statement. And indeed he made quite a lot of disparaging remarks. I have chosen not to respond to him. I thought it was too desperate an attempt. I believe that the way they have meddled into this matter is a sign of many things the police would have to unravel.
I have no doubt that the I.G would invite them, at least, to ask them questions, how did they know the venue of the attack?    How could they say the police man was not shot? Could they make statement and credit it to the police?    When a thing like this happens, it is either armed robbery, kidnapping or assassination. And they cannot rule out anyone until they finish their investigation. I think they were too jumpy. There is a whole lot they may be able to help the police with. Even though I understand the governor has immunity but that does not stop the police from inviting him if he has information to give them. I think they have spoken enough and the police should wade in and find out what else they know that they have not told us.

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