Gov’s aide alleges attempt on life

Rivers State governor, Chief Nyesom Wike’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Opunabo Inko-Tariah, on Thursday escaped assassination.

Inko-Tariah, publisher of local newspaper, Hard Truth, was attacked at about 8 pm by gunmen who fired many shots into his car, a Ford Escape, with registration number: Rivers 105 RVGN.

The assassination attempt was said to have occurred at Israel-Ama Bridge, Buguma, the headquarters of Asari-Toru Local Government Area, Rivers State while Inko-Tariah was returning to Port Harcourt, the state capital.

Inko-tariah, who spoke to journalists in Port Harcourt yesterday, said the gunmen fired many bullets into the car owner’s seat, presuming that he was seated there.

He said the tinted glasses of the vehicle must have prevented the gunmen from seeing that he was the one driving the car.

It was gathered that the bullets pierced the tinted glass at the owner’s corner and left one of the windows shattered.

In an interactive session with reporters, Inko-Tariah stated that he was admonished by his police escort not to stop, while the assassins continued to shoot at the car.

He said at a point, his police escort who sat beside him managed to open the front door of the car and shot sporadically into the direction of his attackers to scare them.

Inko-Tariah said: “I am still shocked over what happened. I was completely confused. The police escort told me not to stop the car and that I should continue to move on. It was God that saved my life.

“They thought I was at the back of the car, and that was why they targeted that point. With the tinted glasses, they had concluded that I was probably at the owner’s seat and they riddled the back side of the car with bullets.

“It was a close shave with death and I thank God for His divine intervention.”

He said he was on his way back to Port Harcourt after travelling to Buguma to resolve a land dispute.

Asked if he thought the attack was politically motivated, he said: “I am not ruling out anything and I am suspecting everything.”

He said he had reported the attempt on his life to the Rivers State Police Command, expressing optimism that the police in the state would ensure thorough investigation of the incident with a view to exposing the culprits and prosecuting them.

It was gathered that a former aide to former Rivers State governor, Dr. Peter Odili, Chief Diamond Tobi-West, was also attacked at the same spot recently.

The Rivers State Deputy Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Grace Iringe-Koko, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), said she had not been briefed on the matter.