By Jonathan Ugbal: Government House Correspondent
The Escort vehicle in the convoy of Cross River Deputy Governor, Professor Ivara Esu was snatched Thursday evening, CrossRiverWatch authoritatively reports.
The driver whose name is currently given as Ivara and hails from Obubra local government area was shot and is currently receiving treatment at an undisclosed facility.
The vehicle, a 2015 model Ford Ranger 4X4 double cab special utility van was snatched at about 7PM along Goldie street in Calabar South local government area sources in Government House say.
The driver is said to have driven into an ongoing shooting spree embarked upon by rival gangster groups when they sighting the Amber warning light and siren, mistook it for a regular Police patrol van and shot at him.
He was dragged out of the vehicle with eyewitnesses saying he pleaded for his life shouting he was not a police officer but a driver engaged in the state civil service when the robbers who had initially pointed at his head and chest later shot him in the stomach region close to the hip.
It is currently unclear what the situation is with the driver.
The vehicle was then driven to Etta Agbor where a few metres after the UNICAL small gate, it jerked to a stop because of fuel. The robbers then abandoned it, snatched a vehicle from a man said to be a lecturer in UNICAL and sped off.
The vehicle was however recovered and is currently parked at Governor’s office in Calabar with very little scratches.
Meanwhile, work continues for Professor Esu who arrived office early as usual for work.
In a related development, a Policeman was also killed in the Goldie attack.
Eyewitnesses say his colleagues zoomed off and left him behind when they could not withstand the firepower of the criminals after a brief gunfight.
The officer could not run and catch up with the vehicle when the robbers eventually caught up with him and shot him dead with his rifle taken from him.
Cross River State has seen a recent upsurge in criminal activities with Tuesday been the most bloody in the period under review following the kidnap of two, killing of a police officer and the razing of two police patrol vans by gangsters.
Across the state, reports suggests an increase in gangsters activities and armed robbery continue to pour in from our Correspondents and sources.
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