Caught in a web of crossfire but saved by an invisible hand         

Never by any stretch of imagination did I ever think  I could  be caught in a cross fire in the line of my duty to the extent of coming face to face with the stark reality of dying without writing my will.

What happened on Tuesday, July 18 as I went to keep an appointment when gunfire broke out in a broad daylight was an encounter that would not go away from my memory any time soon.

Though we live with death and many have walked through its valley on many occasions, the event of July 18 was the most terrifying and the closest shave with death that I have had in a long while.

Before then, few years ago while flying to Lagos from my base in Uyo, the aircraft encountered bad weather when it attempted to land such that after three attempts to land in Lagos and could not, it headed to Abuja to wait for the bad weather condition to improve before returning to Lagos. It was my first near-death encounter situation. Many passengers screamed when the plane almost touched down but had to take off again three times due to bad weather.

What made that aircraft experience a nightmare was when the pilot announced that after making attempts to land without any success three times that he was going to the Atlantic Ocean to hover around to allow other incoming planes to approach the runway. He said he was doing that to see whether the conditions would be any better.

The most disturbing was when the plane that was scheduled to land in Lagos found its way to Abuja and the passengers were not allowed to leave the plane. It was so frustrating that one top police officer who was also onboard disobeyed the instructions from the flight attendants that nobody should alight and had to terminate his trip in Abuja. Others were allowed to do so. Business travellers would readily recall that an incident in an aircraft that does not last up to three minutes would seem as an eternity.

But that particular episode ended on a happy note when the flight finally touched down in Lagos at about 7:30 p.m., for a plane that took off in Uyo at 2:p.m.

As if that was not enough, another not-so-pleasant experience was when I travelled on a bus to Port Harcourt and the vehicle had a crash along the notorious Ogoni road between Ikot Abasi in Akwa Ibom and Eleme in Rivers State. When the bus skidded off the road while on high speed, it dawned on me that death had come knocking; I closed my eyes, said my prayers and waited for the worst, but again the invisible hand showed up when the bus failed to hit the nearby electric poll. It only succeeded in going into a ditch. One thought that flashed through my mind then was ‘oh my God, how would my children survive without a father?’ But we survived it. Although nobody died in the crash, those who were in the front seat sustained injuries. I had a deep cut on my wrist when I pushed my way out of the bus which had overturned.

Whereas I was on a journey in the two experiences related above, this latest one I was within Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, my base, where I work. I had gone to keep an appointment in the banking district where many banks are located. It was devastating.

It was late in the afternoon and most banks had closed the doors to their banking halls. Business activities were ongoing in town and most people were homeward bound having closed from their offices.

Within the banking district, along major road in the town, gunshots rang out. Nobody took it seriously at first probably with the thought it was one of those sounds from exhaust pipes of some rickety vehicles. But when it continued and the intensity increased, it became clear that something was amiss.

As the shots continued, and people running as far as their feet could carry them, away from the scene, and the major ever-busy road immediately became deserted not even the ubiquitous tricycles that the town is known for could by sighted. I was standing dangerously some metres away from where the policemen were shooting and there was no better place to hide.

Since it was daytime, it was easy to see policemen within the banking district come out to take positions and began firing sporadically. This lasted for about 40 minutes, then the police vehicles arrived the scene and provided the reinforcement and more fire power. Armed robbers had attempted to rob a bank but it was a failed operation.

Earlier in the day, a new police commissioner, Zubairu Muazu posted to Akwa Ibom had arrived and in an interaction with journalists promised to leave no stone unturned in the fight against crime.

When the gunshots died down, it was gathered that a lady had died in the cross fire on the same road few metres away from the epicentre of the gunshots. Her lifeless body in the pool of her own blood went viral on the social media.

In fact, what happened within a few minutes that day could best be imagined. It was like a horror film that became real. What did not help matters at all was the explanation by the police about what had transpired.

According to Chukwu Ikechukwu, deputy Superintendent of Police, Police Public Relations Officer, Akwa Ibom police command in a press statement said it was a clash of rival cultists that led to the mayhem.

“To set the records straight and give a clear and correct picture, the command wishes to inform the public that there was no robbery attack on any commercial bank anywhere in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. The incident that was erroneously referred to was a clash between rival cult gangs along the road which was promptly contained by the swift response of our patrol teams,” the statement said.

Whatever led to a salvo of gunshots in a broad daylight in Uyo within the banking district in the metropolis may not be the issue in contention, but all I know is that I got home in one piece and alive to tell the story of how I came face-to-face with death but helped once again by an unseen hand of the Omnipotent Being.

 

ANIEFIOK UDONQUAK, Uyo