He said it was the mercy of God that saved him from the band of assailants who came with a mission to assassinate him.

Ohakim said yesterday that he thanked God on a day he rode in his bullet-proof vehicle, otherwise, the story would have been different.

Recall that four police officers attached to the former governor’s convoy were killed during the attack on his convoy when the hoodlums swooped on him and others at Oriagu in Ehime Mbano Local Government Area of Imo State.

He escaped by whiskers as the gunmen bombed the backup vehicle in his convoy as he was returning from a visit alongside his two children.

A source close to the former governor said that it took the bravery of the driver for Ohakim and his children to escape.

According to the source, “His Excellency was the main target, but his driver was smart enough to beat them because they were driving to block him.

“Disappointed that their main target had escaped, they blocked his backup vehicle and burnt it. The four policemen with him were burnt.”

But narrating his ordeal to newsmen, the former Imo State governor said what happened was still like a dream.

“We were driving between Isiala Mbano and Ehime Mbano. These people blocked us at a place called Umualumaku.

“The driver who demonstrated a tremendous level of driving skill kept maneuvering until he lost them at a junction when he went right, and not knowing where we had gone, they headed the other direction on the road to Umuahia.

“We then turned and went back to my house. We were there when Imo Government House sent reinforcements from Owerri who brought the corpses of my security people.”

Ohakim, who said he saw the assailants, said they were not amateurs.