Seven Arrested over Alleged Assassination Attempt on Melaye

Yekini Jimoh in Lokoja
Kogi State Police Command has arrested seven persons in connection with the assassination attempt on Senator Dino Melaye in his country home, Aiyetoro-Gbede, in the state.

The assassins had last Saturday invaded the house of Melaye, shooting sporadically which destroyed two vehicles and riddled his building with bullets.

THISDAY reliably gathered yesterday from sources close to the state Police Command that when members of Criminal Investigation Department (CID) searched the home of the Administrator of Ijumu Local Government Area, Hon. Taofiq Isa, at Odokoro, a suspected black Prado Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) used for the operation was recovered alongside ammunition.

The sources further disclosed that the seven suspects were arrested at different locations while the black SUV and the ammunition have been impounded by the state police command. It was also gathered that the security agents are still hunting for the remaining suspects while the command has ordered Isa to report to the state police command.
Meanwhile, the state Police Public Relations Officer, William Ayah, while reacting to the report, said investigation was still on.

However, the Ijumu administrator, Isa, who doubles as the ALGON chairman, had earlier denied any involvement in the assassination attempt.

According to him, he had been busy attending to his wife who is ill. He urged Dino to prove his allegation against him, saying: “I’ve never been a violent man. My running battle with Dino if any is because I have asked him to stop vilifying the state Governor, Yahaya Bello.

“Let him (Dino) prove it. I lost my uncle a week ago, and I’m still attending to my ill wife as well as busy supervising the APC re-registration programmes. I’m democratic and law abiding. I challenge Dino to prove his case.”