Olu Falae escapes death again as anti-riot police open fire on his motorcade near Ile-Oluji

FORMER finance minister and secretary to the federal government Chief Olu Falae narrowly escaped death again yesterday after anti-riot policemen opened fire on his motorcade along the Akure Expressway near Ile-Oluji in Ondo State.

 

Chief Falae, who was abducted by Fulani herdsmen from his farm near Akure last year but later released unharmed was, however, fortunate to escape unharmed. He was on his way to Ile-Ife to pay a courtesy call on the new Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, when his entourage was fired upon.

 

Chief Falae said: “Before I was kidnapped, now they want to kill me. I was coming from Akure approaching Ilesa when I saw some vehicles ahead of me and there was a bullion van in front, while the vehicles ahead of us were overtaking the bullion van and we too followed.

 

“I nearly passed them when I heard a shot and I heard a bang on my car. We stopped and we saw that they fired at our car but they didn’t stop, so we drove on and stopped at Erin-Ijesa and complained to the police at the check-point that we were fired at by some police following a bullion van at Ile-Oluji junction.”

 

Folashade Odoro, the Osun State Police Command spokesperson, said they had not received any official report from Chief Falae, stating that he should have reported the matter at the Ile-Oluji Police Station. Chief Falae said it is the latest in a long set of travails that involve him being kidnapped last year and arrested in 1997 and locked up for two years.