How I escaped the night assassins came for me — Gov Otti 

By Tolulope Oke

Abia State Governor, Dr Alex Otti, has recounted how he narrowly escaped what he described as an assassination attempt in 2015, saying he believes divine intervention saved his life.

Otti shared the account on Thursday night during the ‘Abia Solemn Assembly and Covenant Renewal Service’ in Umuahia, organised by the state government with the theme, “Remembering the Covenant.”

The governor, while reflecting on his journey into politics, recalled an incident in July 2015 when he was challenging the outcome of the Abia State governorship election at the tribunal.

According to him, he was in Abuja at the time attempting to hold a meeting with an individual who repeatedly postponed their appointment until the meeting eventually failed to take place.

Otti said he later informed his friends that he planned to return from Abuja the following day despite their objections.

“There was only one flight from Abuja to Owerri then.

“All my friends objected. I said, well, I have received a message that I must leave Abuja.

“So, to make it make sense, I told them I wanted to be at the tribunal on Friday, so they grudgingly accepted,” he said.

The governor said that night, armed men allegedly attacked his Abuja residence, killing two policemen stationed there while searching for him.

“That night, assassins attacked my residence in Abuja, shot two policemen dead, and they were looking for me.

“Of course, God had taken me away,” Otti said.

He claimed that after failing to find him inside the building, the attackers became convinced that he was still within the premises and moved into an adjoining compound.

“When they finished and couldn’t find me. They were convinced I was there.

“They had so much time. By the way, this was Maitama. They jumped into the next compound, and I learnt that they were up to 12. They jumped into the next compound, and stripped the whole building,” he added.

Otti said there was no obvious reason at the time for him to leave Abuja but that he believed his decision to travel was divinely directed.

“They thought I jumped first, but I left. There was no reason for me not to be there but God had taken me away from there,” he said.

The governor also recalled how some people advised him against going into politics, while others suggested that he seek spiritual protection through traditional means.

“A lot of friends, after trying to dissuade me, found I couldn’t be dissuaded. They said, okay, if you decided to do this thing, you can’t go in there empty-handed.

“You can’t go there without belonging to some societies.

“You can’t go there without going to some native doctors for protection and you will be shocked at the kind of people that are making these suggestions and some of them are leaders in churches,” he said.

Otti said his decision remained anchored on his faith, citing the biblical passage in Joshua 24:15 about choosing whom to serve.

He said the experience strengthened his conviction about his political journey and his administration’s commitment to what he described as service anchored on faith.