General News of Sunday, 15 August 2004

Source: thisDay

Gunmen Attack Nigerian Media Men in Ghana

Three Nigerian media consultants, Mr. Enyi Odigbo and his two partners, Mr. Nduka Onum of Campaign and Elections and Mr. Ibrahim Claude-Enin narrowly escaped death in Ghana when dare-devil gunmen attacked them during a business trip to the country.

Odigbo, Managing Director of the Nigerian office of DDB Network, an international advertising and marketing communications group and his partners were attacked and robbed in Accra, after discussing campaign publicity strategies with the presidential candidate of the country's National Democratic Congress (NDC), Professor John Atta-Mills in the Upper-West region.

In a release signed by Nduka Onum, who was the first Political Editor of Punch Newspapers as well a former Editor-in-Chief of Imo Newspapers Ltd publishers of the Stateman, an invitation had come for the three to visit Ghana and discuss election campaign proposals with Atta-Mills, who was the former Vice President of Ghana. But after discussions which spanned three days they were attacked by four gunmen on arrival from the Upper-West regional capital, Waa, where they had held a meeting with Atta-Mills.

According to the statement, "the four-man armed robbery gang with AK 47 assault rifle and an automatic pistol came in taxi to where we had stopped to pick our luggage preparatory to checking into the Golden Tulip Hotel. They fired rifle rounds and assaulted the drive and took away all the luggage, documents and money the group was travelling with. They warned the Ghanaian driver to stop working with 'the bloody Nigerians."

"The precision with which the gang attacked us suggested a premediated attack after a lengthy surveillance and coordination. Apart from the taxi they came in, there was a back-up car which watched the operation and drove off following the gang's taxi," Odigbo said.

He said a report was made at the cantonment Police station Accra and to the Regional Police Commissioner.