Dino Melaye gives more details of how gunmen allegedly tried to kidnap, assassinate him

Senator Dino Melaye, representing Kogi West, has given more insight
into how he escaped from gunmen who attacked him in Gwagwalada.

The embattled lawmaker was attacked along Gwagwalada area.

Speaking with newsmen in Abuja on Sunday, the embattled lawmaker said
he hid in a tree after he was attacked by the gunmen while travelling
to his state.

Melaye said he observed a Toyota Sienna trailing him after he left
Abuja for Lokoja where he was to attend a court hearing on the illegal
arms possession charge filed against him.

He narrated that the Toyota Sienna overtook him, blocked and started
shooting at his vehicle.

Melaye said two policemen came into the bush in search of him, but
they didn't realise he was on the tree.

He said: "When I realised that they wanted to burn my vehicle, I
quickly opened the car and ran into the bush. I had to run for my
life. It was the grace of God that made me to escape. When I got into
the bush, I climbed a tree and stayed there. While on the tree, I saw
two of the policemen coming to look for me but they didn't know I was
on the tree. I was in the bush for 11 hours.

"My brother that was in one of the vehicles didn't know what happened.
So, he had to raise an alarm that I was kidnapped. He went to the
Gwagwalada police station and reported the matter. At first, they
wanted to act, but when one of them made a call, they started tossing
my brother up and down.

"They then asked him to go and wait for them at the scene, that they
would join him. But he waited for more than 45 minutes, they didn't
come. So, it's not true for the police to say that none of my family
members reported the matter."

He also claimed that the Nigeria Police Force and Governor of the
State, Yahaya Bello should be held responsible if anything happened to
him.

Melaye berated President Muhammadu Buhari over his silence in the face
of four assassination attempts on his life.

He said, "If anything happens to me, the Nigerian police and (Kogi
state) Yahaya Bello should be held responsible.

"I went through four assassination attempts as a senator of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria, but the president remained silent.
Definitely, I'm going to call the attention of the international
community.

"They withdrew my security since April 22, and I wrote the police to
restore my security, but nothing was done. As a senator, I deserve
security personnel around me. In fact, even as an ordinary citizen, I
deserve security."