Two reps accuse Ngige of plotting to kill them

Daily Independent Online
By Chukwudi Achife, Bureau Chief, Enugu, Bayo Oladeji and Uchenna Awom National Assembly Correspondents, Abuja

Wednesday, January 12, 2005

Two House of Representatives members from Anambra State, Dr Harry Oranezi (Nnewi South/North/Ekwusigo) and Jerry Ugokwe have raised an alarm that suspended Governor Chris Ngige’s men were after them.

Oranezi told journalists at the National Assembly complex on Tuesday how he escaped an attempt to assassinate him but not finding him the killers terminated the life of the MOPOL officer guarding him.

He said, “in early December last year a member of the government sponsored Anambra Volunteer Squad (AVS) called to alert me over the phone that some agents of the state government would be visiting my house during the Christmas with the aim of killing me. I quickly wrote President Olusegun Obasanjo, the Inspector General of Police, Tafa Balogun, on this development.”

He said he left Abuja for his village on December 24 despite the warning, but that being the deputy chairman, committee on health, he had to return to Abuja on January 6 to attend the meeting to address the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) crisis. He added that the next day he received a call that some armed men invaded his country home at Ebenato in Nnewi South Local Government asking after him but killed one of the two MOPOL, Corporal Patrick Anugba, who stood on their way.

He said the plot was to eliminate him and his colleague, Jerry Ugokwe who are in the same camp with Chris Uba. Oranezi said the assassination attempt was because he was insisting that Ngige should honour his pre-election agreement with his erstwhile political mentor. In a petition to Obasanjo and Balogun he said he was informed that the assassination had been planned to appear like an armed robbery attack and urged them call Ngige to order. “Your excellency, I am using this medium to appeal to you to please intervene on my behalf before they carry out their bastardly act by calling Ngige to order as my offence is my insistence in his going back to an agreement he signed with our political leader. This is a pure case of honour and dignity,” he wrote.

He said his report had proved to be accurate as his assailants had pretended to be armed robbers and remove the sum of N11,000 from one of his brothers who was in the house . Oranezi said the attack would not deter him from his posture on the Anambra crisis and that he was enjoying the full protection of God.

He said, “I will never shift from my stand point as I was part of the movement from inception even if he succeeds in killing me as planned, my blood will fight those who are involved.”