Police debunk alleged assassination attempt on naval officer Yerima

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has dismissed reports that AM Yerima, the naval officer involved in a recent altercation with Nyesom Wike, was the target of an assassination attempt in Abuja.

Media reports on Sunday claimed that Yerima was trailed by unidentified men dressed in black who were travelling in two unmarked Hilux vans. The reports said the pursuit began around 6:30 p.m. at the NIPCO filling station along the Kubwa Expressway and continued to Gado-NASCO Way.

According to the accounts, Yerima allegedly evaded the assailants through a “strategic manoeuvre” during a high-speed chase.

TheCable understands that the officer, who was driving a vehicle with tinted glass, was stopped by some police officers around the Kubwa area who asked him to identify himself. He was subsequently allowed to continue his trip.

In a statement, Josephine Adeh, spokesperson of the FCT Police Command, described the reports of an “assassination attempt” 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 11 November, Wike was embroiled in a shouting match with soldiers who had manned a disputed piece of land in the nation’s capital. 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 spun off from it.