By Our Correspondent
The Managing Director of the Anambra Broadcasting Service (ABS), Chief Chido Obidiegwu, reportedly escaped being killed by suspected gunmen who trailed him after he attended a funeral ceremony in Ozubulu, Ekwusigo Local Government Area of Anambra State, to the point that they later set his official Toyota pickup truck ablaze.
The incident reportedly happened on Friday, July 28, 2023, shortly after the ABS boss attended the funeral of Madam Bridget Emecheta, the matriarch of the Emecheta family, at Egbema, Ozubulu.
Narrating his experience, Obidiegwu said he had attended the funeral like other guests and was already driving away after presenting his condolence envelope when he noticed a cream-coloured Toyota Sienna following him.
He said he became suspicious after making a left turn and noticing that the vehicle followed him, only for him to deliberately turn right and discover that the occupants were still trailing him as they also turned the same direction with him.
According to him, the development made him realise that he might be in danger, prompting him to speed towards the funeral venue in an attempt to escape, but the occupants of the Sienna equally increased their speed and continued after him.
Obidiegwu said it was at that point that he remembered previous threats against him and the ABS over the station’s broadcasts on efforts to stop the sit-at-home exercise in the South East.
He recalled that he had received a threatening text message over the broadcasts, while a letter had also been pasted on the gate of the station’s premises, warning the organisation (which is a state government-owned media outlet) to stop reporting on the campaign against sit-at-home.
The ABS boss said the memories, coupled with the killings that had been taking place in the region, convinced him that the pursuit could end in a deadly attack.
He explained that his first opportunity to gain some distance from the suspected attackers came around Orie Market junction, where a truck moved between his vehicle and the pursuing Sienna.
Although the truck gave him some breathing space, Obidiegwu said he noticed that the suspected gunmen were still coming after him, forcing him to abandon his official vehicle by the roadside and run for his life.
He said he escaped through a nearby compound into a bush farm before finding his way to another road, where he boarded a commercial motorcycle to a motor park and eventually returned to Awka in a public transport vehicle.
The media executive said the suspected attackers later arrived at the spot where he had abandoned the pickup truck and set it on fire, leaving the vehicle in flames after he had escaped.
The attack reportedly came after at least three previous warnings had been directed at Obidiegwu and the ABS management over the station’s broadcasts concerning the sit-at-home exercise.
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has been associated with the enforcement of sit-at-home directives in the South East, with threats and attacks reported against people and institutions perceived to be defying the exercise.
The Federal Government proscribed IPOB in 2017 following a court order declaring it a terrorist organisation. Anambra and neighbouring Imo State have also recorded security incidents, including killings, kidnappings, arson and attacks on public facilities, amid persistent concerns over violence in parts of the region.
The sit-at-home exercise has repeatedly disrupted commercial activities, transportation, education and other aspects of daily life across the South East, while its enforcement has continued to generate concerns over the safety of residents and the freedom of individuals and organisations to carry out their lawful activities.
Although the identities of the gunmen involved in the attack on Obidiegwu were not established in the account of the incident, the attack came against the backdrop of the reported threats to the ABS over its coverage of the campaign against sit-at-home.
