UPDATE | Gunmen Snatch Deputy Governor’s Car in Calabar, Kill Policeman

As the security situation in Calabar, Cross River State capital, deteriorates, some dare-devil gunmen on Thursday evening snatched the pilot car of the Cross River State Deputy Governor, Prof Ivara Esu, and killed a policeman in the process.

The driver of the car was also shot by the gunmen.

The attack by the gunmen took place at Goldie Street opposite NNPC station in Calabar around 7pm, when the pilot vehicle ran into a group of heavily armed men who were parading the street.

Below is how a source who narrated the incident:
“After the executive council meeting at the Governor’s office in Calabar yesterday, the pilot vehicle led other cars as they escorted the deputy governor to his house.

“After dropping him off, the vehicle proceeded to drop the security men in the vehicle in their houses. While they were driving along that Goldie Street axis, they ran into a traffic jam caused by a group of cultists operating in the area. The cultists, numbering over 20, were armed with guns and machetes. When the cultists descended on the pilot vehicle, they shot the driver and drove off with the car. The other people in the car scampered for safety.”

Confirming the incident, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Irene Ugbo, said a policeman who was shot during the melee died later in the hospital.

The vehicle was later recovered by the police at the scene of the incident. No arrest has been made.