The police command in Nasarawa has vowed to arrest the gunmen who attacked Musa Ibrahim-Abubakar, ex-commissioner for environment and natural resources, in Doma local government area.

Police spokesman Ramhan Nansel stated this on Monday in Lafia.

Mr Nansel said the attack on the former commissioner occurred on September 7, on Rukubi-Doma Road. He said the police had begun an investigation and would not relent until the perpetrators were arrested and brought to justice.

Narrating his ordeal to journalists from his hospital bed, Mr Ibrahim-Abubakar thanked God for sparing his life. The victim, the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) candidate for the Doma South House of Assembly seat, said the attack occurred on his way from Rukubi town, where he went to donate relief material to flood victims.

“After the donation, I was returning from Rukubi town to Doma at about 5:30 p.m., around Igbabo village, when about nine gunmen opened fire on me from different directions,” stated the politician. “One of the bullets hit the mobile phone in my breast pocket, with another hitting my elbow and my back.”

He added, “I was able to escape by the whiskers to Igbabo village where the villagers tended to me and took me to the hospital for proper treatment.”

Mr Ibrahim-Abubakar also mentioned that several bullets had already been removed from his body, with the doctor working to remove one more lodged under his ribs.

He alleged that the attack might be the handiwork of his political opponents, who felt threatened by his growing popularity. The former commissioner recently defected from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to NNPP and picked the party’s ticket for the Doma South state constituency election in 2023. 

(NAN)