A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been reportedly abducted in Rivers State.
It was gathered that some unknown gunmen ambushed the politician’s convoy along Jephtha East-West road in Obio-Akpor Local Government Area of the state.
A driver and a civilian in one of the vehicles that were part of the convoy of the PDP chieftain were reportedly shot dead during the attack.
OsunDaily News learnt that two officers of the Nigeria Police Force attached to the politician also sustained bullet wounds while exchanging fire with the assailants.
An eyewitness, who gave details of the incident to Daily Post, alleged that the assailants were fully armed criminals dressed in military uniform.
He explained that they blocked the politician’s convoy and opened fire on the first vehicle conveying the civilians.
The source said the criminals, whose driver was a woman, succeeded in abducting their target and carted away what looked like a bag of money from his vehicle while shooting sporadically to scare passersby.
“I was sitting here (when) all of a sudden, I saw a vehicle blocking an escort. The first thing they did was to shoot the police escort, the one in the front.
“They also shot the driver and all of a sudden, the driver lost control.
“The police officers, one of them, his hand was destroyed as well as his back. Meanwhile, the other police officer, his hand and his neck were affected. They rushed them to the hospital.
“They kidnapped the man. They took his money and everything inside his car. The armed robbers were in a Sienna vehicle, a new one, the latest Sienna, and it was a woman that drove it.
“It took more than two hours before police officers came and carried the vehicle and the people that were already dead. They (criminals) were completely dressed in army uniform,” the eyewitness told reporters.
The state police command has since confirmed the attack through its public relations officer, SP Grace Iringe-Koko.
The command, however, dismissed reports that two police officers died in the attack. Iringe-Koko said the Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Okon Effiong, has deployed tactical teams to secure the release of the abducted man.
