Gunmen have attacked Benard Odoh, the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in Ebonyi State.
The incident happened on Thursday evening in Okpoto, a community in the Ishielu Local Government Area of the state.
It was gathered that the gunmen operated in a silver-coloured Sienna vehicle and wielded AK-47 rifles.
Although the APGA candidate was lucky to have survived, his driver was, however, not lucky as he was shot and later died of injuries sustained from the incident.
Efforts to reach the Ebonyi State Police Command proved abortive as the police spokesman, Chris Anyanwu switched off his phone.
Odoh confirmed the incident to Channels Television on Friday in a voice note sent on WhatsApp.
The governorship hopeful narrated how he survived what he described as an assassination attack on him.
According to him, the attack was carried out by suspected members of the state-controlled security outfit, Ebubeagu.
“My convoy was attacked by a suspected Ebubeagu team last night between Okpoto and Guest House. My driver was killed, and two police officers were badly injured,” he stated.
“It was a clear assassination attempt because the focus was on my vehicle. This is to let the public know that the attack on my life by the current government continues to heighten by the day.”
But the state government denied the allegation, saying Ebubeagu operatives were not responsible for the shooting incident.
In a press briefing on Friday in Abakaliki, the state Commissioner for Information, Uchenna Orji, exonerated the state government from the incident, describing the allegation as spurious.
Channels TV
