Deputy governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress in Rivers State, Dr. Innocent Barikor, on Tuesday night, escaped assassination in Port Harcourt, the state capital.
Barikor’s police orderly was, however, not lucky as he was shot dead on the spot.
The APC deputy governorship candidate was said to have left his office at the GRA on Tuesday night for a meeting in an undisclosed location.
But on stepping outside, he was ambushed by some gunmen, who had waited for him outside.
It was learnt that on sighting Barikor, the gunmen opened fire.
“Barikor escaped by the whiskers but his police orderly was not fortunate because the bullets hit and killed him on the spot,” a source said.
APC Deputy Publicity Secretary, Darlington Nwauju, confirmed the attack on Barikor.
Nwauju urged the Inspector-General of Police to wade into the matter by thoroughly investigating the incident.
But the state’s Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Grace Iringe-Koko, said it was not a case of assassination.
According to her, “It was not an assassination. Actually a policeman was shot. I think he was the target because they saw him with a rifle. Nothing happened to the candidate. We are investigating the incident and the place has been surrounded”.