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• Ooni, Alaafin rivalry ends
• Lagos councils adjudged non-performers
• Kid bread seller kills cousin over proceeds
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• Ohakim descends on ‘Okada' operators
• Don't retire lecturers under 65, Court cautions Ibadan Polytechnic
• Forget the past, Saraki tells opposition
• Kogi LG election will hold as planned –Dep. Gov
• Nyako disowns debts inherited from Haruna
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• Ohakim targets improved child health

Bandits attack Gov.'s motorcade

Some persons suspected to be bandits have attacked the motorcade of Governor Theodore Orji of Abia State.

The attack, took place in the early hours of last Tuesday, at Ngwa Iyekwe in Ugwunagbo Local Government Area of Abia, while the motorcade was going to Port Harcourt airport to bring back the governor.

The governor had been out of the state in the last two weeks.
Dependable sources said the motorcade was alerted of the presence of the bandits on the highway, but chose to continue by firing gunshots, before a hot exchange ensued. .
It was understood that before the arrival of the entourage, the bandits had robbed a Nissan bus and killed its conductor.

Briefing journalists on the incident, Chief Ralph Egbu, the Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, said the governor might have escaped what he described as ``an assassination attempt''.
Egbu said he drew the conclusion because the assassins concentrated on the governor's staff car and the back up.

He said: ``They thought that the governor was going for an official engagement outside the state.''
The commissioner described the attack as ‘’embarrassing to the state as well as a serious security breach.’’

``We have shamed those who are rejoicing that the governor has been dealt with at last,'' he said.
Egbu dismissed rumours making rounds that the Deputy Governor, Chief Chris Akomas, was kidnapped.

``Let me use this opportunity to tell you that the deputy governor was not kidnapped. He has been doing his job and held brief while the governor was away on an official assignment outside the state,'' Egbu said.

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) for Abia Command, Mr Ali Okechukwu, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), said ``we cannot say that it is an attack intended on the motorcade because nobody was arrested.

``The robbers may have mistaken the motorcade siren for a bullion van.
``We visited the scene and saw that a Nissan bus was robbed by the bandits and the conductor of the bus was killed.''