By Ushang Ewa
Unknown gunmen on Monday attacked the residence of Nigeria’s former Ambassador to Russia, Mr. Assam Assam in Calabar, the Cross River State capital.
Mr. Assam told reporters on Monday evening that he had gone out to get drugs on Sunday evening and slept at about 11PM, 2 hours after reaching home only for a colleague of his to wake him after hearing strange voices in the compound.
“At 2am my colleague who came from Lagos who was working in my house raised an alarm that there were strange people in the compound that he saw some light behind the window. Instantly I hurried everybody into my bedroom and locked the doors.
“Just as I locked the second door, I heard a big bang on the door and the door burst open and just by the second door bullets started flying past me through the door.
“I knew there was a problem, and then I got prepared as they started chiseling the door and banging, shouting at me to come and open the door or they will break it down. I started firing my flare gun to alert the security agencies to know where I was.
“At about 4am we did not hear any noise again and by this time, I contacted my sons-in-law and my neigbours reached to the security agencies and the entire street was filled with policemen but nobody came into this house until some soldiers came and decided to force themselves into the premises,” Mr Assam who is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria said and claimed it was an assassination attempt.
“I know that nobody came to my house to collect money from me because these people were seen trekking as they were coming so they could not have come to kidnap me. I can tell you taking cognizance of what we have seen, certainly they came for assassination,” Assam said.
The NATION reports that Assam reported the matter to the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of the Akim area command ad concluded that the police was being cooperative and were investigating the matter.
CrossRiverWatch has reached the Police for comments.
Mr. Assam served under former Governor Gods will Akpabio of Akwa Ibom state where he, according to reports was a well known kidnapping negotiator during the months preceding the 2011 general elections.
He had served as Akpabio’s aide in constitutional and legal matters in his first term ad is said to have negotiated ransoms for several high profile kidnaps in Akwa Ibom state as at that time.
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