Lere Olayinka, a media aide to Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory has given an insight into the alleged assassination attempt on the life of Navy Lieutenant AM Yerima on Sunday.
In a post made on X, Olayinka claimed that Yerima made up the story of an assassination attempt on his life at a Police checkpoint in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city.
Recall that there had been reports that the now popular Navy officer escaped an assassination attempt on his life.
This report comes barely one week after Yerima was involved in a heated verbal altercation with Wike over a piece of land belonging to a former Chief of Naval Staff, Zubairu Gambo in the Gaduwa area of Abuja.
Yerima, who led a team of military officers had in the past week, prevented the Minister and officials of the FCT Administration from gaining access to the property under ownership dispute.
However, reacting to the assassination claim, Olayinka alleged that the naval officer was driving around town with a tinted and ‘unplated vehicle’.
According to Olayinka, when the officer was stopped at a police checkpoint and asked to wind down his car window and identify himself he refused.
“You were driving a car without a plate number. The car was tinted. At the Police Checkpoint, you were stopped. You were asked to wind down, you refused.
“After you eventually wind down, you were asked to identify yourself, you refused. Instead, you were calling other Naval Officers while insulting the Policemen on official duty. The Policemen didn’t allow you to go until your colleagues came and identified you. You left and sold the story of escaping assassination.
“So the Policemen who kept you waiting until your colleagues came to identify you were the ones who wanted to assassinate you?
“Or was it part of an order for you to use an unregistered car and refuse to identify yourself when asked to do so by the Police?” Olayinka queried.
He also said that Yerima’s action was out of place in his meeting with the police possibly due to the recent validation he has been getting from social media users over his encounter with the minister.
“Like I said earlier, when you are being hailed too much by Social Media people…” Olayinka noted.