Sen.
Dino Melaye escaped death by the whiskers as gunmen invaded his house in the
early hours of Saturday at Ayetoro-Gbede in Kogi State.
The
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), gathered that the gunmen numbering about ten
arrived the house at about midnight through the bush and opened fire from
different directions on the house.
The
house was riddled with bullets while two of the vehicles parked in the estate
were damaged by the hoodlums.
Melaye,
(APC-Kogi West), was in his country home at Ayetoro-Gbede in Ijumu Local
Government Area for the Easter holiday at the time of the attack
The
Police Public Relations Officer in the state, ASP William Aya told NAN that the
police received a distress call from the senator at about 1 a.m. and
immediately responded.
He
said the hoodlums escaped before the police arrived, thereby making arrest
impossible.
Aya
said the Commissioner of Police, Mr Wilson Inalegwu had set up an investigation
committee headed by the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of operations
to unravel those behind the attack.
On
his part, Melaye said the hoodlums arrived at about midnight and started
shooting sporadically at the main building in the compound.
He
said the shooting lasted for almost one hour, adding that apart from the
building riddled with bullets, two of his vehicles were damaged.
The
senator said he suspected Mr Taufiq Isa, the Administrator of Ijumu Local
Government to be behind the attack.
According
to him, the attack is most likely due to his incessant verbal attacks on the
State Government.
“I
got a rousing welcome from Kabba to my home town on Friday and I know it
angered the power that is in the state which mobilised for this assassination
attempt on my life.
“At
about midnight, we started hearing gunshots. They fired more than 200 rounds of
bullet into the house. This attempt to kill me will not stop me from speaking
the truth.
“If
I speak the truth, I will die, if I lie, I will die. I’ve decided to speak the
truth and die. I’m not afraid of death. I only respect men, I don’t fear them.
“I
am championing an administrative course. I will continue to speak and be the
voice to the voiceless. I’m not deterred; I remain resolute to make Kogi
better. Noting will stop me from coming home.”
Melaye
also chided the police for not responding quickly to his distress call, saying
that the house of the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in the town was a stone
thrown from the scene of the attempt on his life.
“The
DPO did not come to my house until three hours later. Even the area Commander
in Kabba was not notified until I called the Commissioner of police. I suspect
a satanic collaboration between Taufiq Isa and the police in Aiyetoro because
the duo held a meeting two days ago.
“Only
God will protect us in this country but definitely not the police”, he said.
In
a swift reaction, Isa denied having a hand in the attempt on the life of the
Senator, saying that he had been busy for sometime taking care of his sick
wife.
“I’ve
never been a violent man. My running battle with Dino Melaye, if any, is because
I have asked him to stop vilifying the state governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello.
“Let
him (Dino) prove it. I lost my uncle a week ago; I’m still attending to my sick
wife and busy supervising the APC re- registration programmes. I’m a democrat
and law abiding. I challenge Dino to prove his case,” he said.
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