“I was going in a totally different vehicle, but I asked my brother to drive behind me in an SUV as a back-up,” he said. “But I was shocked to see the attackers run into the middle, creating wall between my brother and I before attacking me.”
He said his brother immediately performed a U-turn, a task that was by and large seamless since he was not the target of the assailants.
Mr Melaye said he is still being haunted by the event of four days ago, and called on Nigerians to prevail on federal authorities to restore his security.
He urged citizens to disregard the claims that he was somehow involved in planning the attack on him.
“It defies logical, the claim is illogical,” Mr Melaye said.
“To begin with, the federal government and the police in particular have combined five cases against me in court,” Mr Melaye said. “I have never declined to appear in court for trial in all the five separate cases.”
He said the claim that he was trying to avoid court appearance should immediately ring false to lucid minds, especially since he was in court just a day before.
Besides, Mr Melaye said, the court appearance in Lokoja was more about symbolism than substance. This was because he had learnt from his lawyer, Mike Ozekhome, that the case would not be heard on Thursday because prosecution lead had already written to notify of his unavoidable absence and seek adjournment.
“Alex Izinyon is the prosecutor and he had written to my lawyer to inform him that he would not be in court on Thursday and that the judge should adjourn the matter,” Mr Melaye said.
“So why would I not want to be in court when I know that nothing would happen to me?” Mr Melaye said.
Moreover, Mr Melaye further mentioned that Nigerians should remember that he was granted bail by the same court in Lokoja, which he had continued to enjoy and had made three previous appearances.
“I have been attending all previous court hearings. I have been told that the prosecutor wanted an adjournment. I have been granted bail long ago which I continue to enjoy. So why would I not want to go to court that day?”
“There is no sense in that claim. It is completely against logic,” Mr Melaye said.
Mr Melaye said as a citizen, he is entitled to security if he informed the authorities of a credible threat to his life.
“So now that I am even a senator of the federal republic, how do you withdraw my security and leave me exposed, especially when I have escaped four previous assassination attempts?” Mr Melaye said.
He said his security was withdrawn on April 22, at the peak of his confrontation with the police over alleged complicity in a series of capital offences traced to some persons the police identified as hardened criminals who once terrorised Kogi State.
The suspects were arrested and they allegedly named Mr Melaye as their sponsor who supplied them with arms and funding. Mr Melaye strong rejected the claims, but the police continued to see him as a suspect, and later arraigned him in Lokoja.
Mr Melaye said he had made several attempts to have police detail restored, but all without luck.
He showed PREMIUM TIMES copies of letters he wrote to the Inspector-General Ibrahim Idris, informing him of threats to his life.
He also decried his vulnerable security during a plenary at the Senate, which lawmakers promptly responded to by passing a resolution on July 11, calling on the police to provide security for him.
“I also asked for security from the Civil Defence authorities, but they refused to provide it because of the powers that be,” he said.
Mr Melaye vowed that he would not stop criticising President Muhammadu Buhari, no matter the cost to his personal comfort and safety.
“If I die today, 100 Dinos will rise tomorrow and take my place,” the senator said.
