Gunman arrested as Ekweremadu, family escape assassination attempt

Gunmen invaded the home of Ike Ekweremadu, deputy senate president, in the early hours of Tuesday while he was at home with his family.

Uche Anichukwu, media aide to Ekweremadu, described the incident as an assassination attempt.

In a statement, Anichukwu said armed men “discreetly” bypassed the security in the home of the deputy senate president located at Apo, Abuja.

Anichukwu said the attackers could not shoot because they did not want to attract the attention of security personnel on duty.

He said they took hold of the senator’s son and asked him to lead them to his father’s bedroom.

“It was at the senator’s bedroom that a struggle ensued, leading to the arrest of one of the assailants with dangerous weapons and housebreaking devices, while the rest managed to escape,” the aide said.

“The arrested member of the gang has, however, refused to divulge any information on the operation and has been handed over to the police.

“Ekweremadu, his wife, and one of his sons were in the house at the time of the attack. It could be recalled that the lawmaker narrowly escaped an attempt on his life in Abuja on November 17, 2015.

“Although the 2015 incident was reported to the security agencies, nothing has been heard about the matter till date.”