BREAKING: How I Survived An Assassination Attempt On My Life

Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has narrated how he escaped an assassination attempt on his life in 1994.

Naija News reports that Atiku disclosed this during an interview for the television show Untold Stories with Adesuwa Giwa-Osagie released on Wednesday.

Atiku, a former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, revealed that he was saved by the exchange of gunfire between his assassins and police operatives.

According to him, the attempt on his life took place in 1994 when he was still a member of the constitutional assembly.

Asked about his exile and the assassination attempt on his life, the former Vice President said, “Actually I went into exile before the assassination because I came back from exile. Mhmm. And then was elected into the constitutional assembly. So it was when we were in constitutional assembly, I think around 1994. That I faced an assassination attempt and then dashed out to London and from London to United States.”

Pushed on narrated what transpired and reveal those that died on that day, Atiku said, “Yeah, I mean, actually most of them were security, my personal security at home and then six policemen who had come. You know to rescue me and unfortunately they did not know that there were soldiers who were at the gate and by the time they approached the gate of course then there was exchange of fire. I think that exchange of fire actually saved me because the moment you know those who held me hostage you know in my room had gunshots they now immediately started running, so they came down. By the time they came down, they found that six of the eight policemen were dead and then two of my security also.”

The PDP presidential candidate who was asked if he was in the room with his son said, “Yes, I mean my eldest son was with me, he came on holidays from UK. They got hold of him first you know at gunpoint and then when I now opened the window blind from upstairs I saw that they are holding him and at gunpoint I decided to dare them so I came out I said look take back my son to his room. If you are looking for me, I’m here. So they took him back. And then of course, as I was coming down the staircase, and it was a glass door, so they saw me and they cocked and opened fire, but then, as a trained person also, I went down. And then of course the bullets, you know, went into the wall and glass and so on. And then they stopped, you know, shooting and I now got up. I said, but I’m coming to open the door for you. Why would you be, you know, shooting? Open, open, open. So I opened. And they said, okay, take us to your room. I refused to take them to my room because in my room, I put my wife and my daughter inside the wardrobe. I locked them. So I went to my wife’s room. I said, this is my room.”

He further stated, “And it was when we were in my wife’s room, they had the gunshots. Mhmm. And then abandoned me and then started running down, you know, to escape. Later on I was told it was a security operation.

“The late inspector general police then Kumasi confided in me because there was a security meeting and he reported that six of his policemen had been shot in and died in Kaduna and then a member of the security council said it was a security operation So he said if it was a security operation, am I not entitled to know? Because the inspector general police. That was something.”