Bullion van’s escort shoots at Falae

A former Presidential candidate of the defunct All Peoples Party, Chief Olu Falae, on Tuesday escaped death when one of the policemen escorting a bullion van opened fire on the vehicle conveying the politician.

Our correspondent gathered that the incident happened at Ile Oluji Junction on the expressway while Falae  was traveling to Ile-Ife  for a visit of the Afenifere leaders with the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi.

Sources at Ife palace told our correspondent that Falae who is the National Chairman of the Social Democratic Party, briefed some persons at Ile-Ife about the incident before the meeting with the Ooni.

“I was coming from Akure approaching Ilesa. I saw some vehicles ahead of me. There was a bullion van in front, the vehicles ahead of us were overtaking the bullion van and we followed too.

“I barely  overtook them when I heard a shot and a bang on my car. We stopped and we saw that they had fired at our car.

“They didn’t stop. We stopped at Erin-Ijesa and complained to the police at the check-point that we were fired at by some policemen attached to a bullion van at Ile-Oluji juction,” Falae was quoted to have said.

Efforts to speak directly to Falae were unsuccessful as calls put to his telephone did not connect.

However, a leader of the Afenifere in Osun State, Mr. Niyi Owolade, confirmed the shooting to our correspondent on the telephone.

Owolade said he spoke to Falae directly and he told him that a policeman attached to a bullion ban shot at his car while coming to Ife.

He said, “I just spoke to him and he confirmed it. He said his car was shot at by a bullion van’s escort.

“Chief said he would take it up because such thing should not be allowed.”

The personal assistant to Falae, Capt, Moshood Raji, also confirmed the incident to our correspondent in Akure on the telephone.