A Labor Party (LP) chieftain, Mr. Umeh Victor yesterday narrowly escaped assault from gunmen at the Enugu/Onitsha expressway.

Umeh who was driving from Awka, Anambra State capital to Abakaliki in the company of his friend explained that it was at the Orji River axis of the road that they noticed a Honda CRV, red color car flagging them down.

He said that “they were five in number in the car. We had to speed up, they chased up so hot that we became afraid, speeding to get to spots where people could be seen. But when they started shooting in the air, we vied off the road, left our car, and ran into the bush”.

He said that from the bush he got to a place where he met a commercial motorbike that drove him back to the Orji River town, ” I then noticed that I had lost my phone and didn’t know the whereabouts of my friend”.

When eventually he met his friend, who returned from his own hideout, the friend phoned one of his soldiers/friends who was at a post near a filling station in Awka, “the soldiers came took us to the scene we abandoned our car. They combed the area. Asked if we had the car keys and told us to continue our journey while they contacted their teams along the route”.

As to what he suspected was up against him, he explained that, before the attack, he received text messages one of which stated, “That your Labour Party you have refused to leave, you will die in that Party”. Another text stated: We know you are living in Abakaliki with your family and children, keep running. We will get you one of these days.

Umeh said that he could not decipher if those after him were from APC or APGA, ” I hail from Amawbia in Anambra State and my family members are mostly of APGA but me I am a card-carrying member of the Labour Party. I am living here in Abakaliki. And I know everyone is entitled to a choice of association. Now I feel threatened by my young family. People should please leave me alone”. (Daily Independent)

Update news