The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has debunked reports that AM Yerima, the naval officer involved in an altercation with FCT minister Nyesom Wike, was the target of an assassination attempt in Abuja.
Reports had surfaced on social media on Sunday, claiming that Yerima was trailed by unidentified men dressed in black, who were travelling in two unmarked Hilux vans.
The unverified reports said the pursuit began around 6:30pm at the NIPCO filling station along Kubwa expressway and continued to Gado-NASCO way, claiming that Yerima evaded the assailants through a “strategic manoeuvre” during a high-speed chase.
However, it was later confirmed that the officer was driving a tinted glass vehicle and was stopped by some police officers around the Kubwa area who asked him to to identify himself.
He was left to continue his journey after identifying himself.
Josephine Adeh, the FCT police spokesperson, in a statement, described the “assassination attempt” reports as “false” and “unverified”.
“The attention of the FCT Police Command has been drawn to publications circulating on social media alleging an attempted assassination on Lt. Ahmed Yerima,” the statement reads.
“The command wishes to categorically state that no such incident has been reported or recorded anywhere within the Federal Capital Territory.
“The public is advised to disregard this false information and desist from spreading unverified claims capable of causing unnecessary panic.”
On November 11, Wike was embroiled in a shouting match with soldiers who had manned a disputed piece of land in the nation’s capital city.
Yerima led the team and was at the centre of the ensuing kerfuffle.
The altercation has since dominated social media discourse with a plethora of skits sewn off it.
