Senator robbed at gunpoint by his driver

• Loses N8m, vital documents
A Senator from one of the states in the South-south zone was on Friday robbed at gunpoint by his driver, who made away with N8million cash.
Also taken away by the driver was the senator’s briefcase containing vital career documents including his international passport and that of his wife.

The loss of the passport thus scuttled a planned trip to China by the victim. The police are investigating.
The driver, it was gathered, was primarily a member of the six-man team in the transport pool of the Senator.
But having sent his principal driver on a mission outside Abuja, the Senator turned to the suspect whose name was given as Muhammed.

Muhammed was assigned to drive the Senator to the Chinese Embassy and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
“Everything went well from the embassy until when they were approaching the airport gate and he decided to pick his travelling documents from the briefcase only to discover that N1million was missing.
“Before the discovery, the Senator had N4million cash and $25, 000 in his briefcase. I think he wanted to conduct some transactions in Naira in Lagos.
“Worried by the missing N1million, the Senator asked the driver what went wrong but he was just mumbling. Out of curiosity, the Senator placed a call to his son and key aides to know whether there was any urgent demand that warranted the removal of N1m from his briefcase. They all denied knowledge of tampering with the briefcase.

“He asked the driver to make a U-Turn from the airport to his residence in Jabi District. But while on the highway the driver drew a gun and asked the Senator to go down or lose his life.
“The bewildered Senator complied and raised the alarm but most motorists ignored him even as he kept shouting ‘help, help me’. His predicament was compounded by the fact that the driver did not allow him to pick any of his handsets from the car.”
After trekking for a while, the Senator was assisted by a good Samaritan to get home.
Investigation revealed that when a call was later placed to the driver, he asked three aides of the Senator-one Ada, Fred (a co-driver) and Osaze to go to an Estate along Jabi -Karimo axis to go and pick the car.
Another source added: “When the aides got there with some detectives, they met the car unlocked and the key put in the pigeon hole. He also left the international passports of the Senator and his wife on top of the car.

“But the briefcase containing the money and documents had been taken away. When he was asked about the whereabouts of the briefcase, the driver, who was suspected to be within the vicinity of the estate, said he left it in the car.”
The driver has since switched off his phone to prevent being trailed with the aid of GPRS by security agencies. The distraught Senator was said to have relocated to his constituency instead of proceeding with his trip to China.
The source added: “The Senator has never used the driver for any assignment. Friday was the first time he asked Mohammed to take him to the airport. The driver used to run local errands for the family.
“In fact, as if the Senator’s wife had a premonition, she is always driving herself anytime she is in Abuja.”