One of his Senate colleagues, Ben Murray-Bruce, who alerted the public to the development on Thursday morning, said the incident occurred along the Abuja-Lokoja Highway.
Mr. Melaye’s aides and family members later told PREMIUM TIMES the senator was attacked shortly after Gwagwalada, a major town in the FCT and home to the University of Abuja while traveling to Lokoja.
The senator said he was on his way to court for a third appearance in his ongoing trial for alleged criminal conspiracy.
News of the purported abduction spread quickly, and many started drawing divergent conclusions as to what might have happened.
His spokesperson, Gideon Ayodele, told PREMIUM TIMES the violence was reported at Gwagwalada police division but did not elaborate on the specific account provided to the police.
As at early Thursday afternoon when the news had become a trending topic, the police did not issue any statement on the reported attack on the senator.
A statement later came in later Thursday, in which the police cast strong doubts about Mr. Melaye’s abduction and also denied claims by Mr. Melaye’s aides that the matter was reported.
The police, however, said they would investigate Mr. Melaye’s whereabouts and rescue him if necessary, urging citizens with actionable information to pass such to authorities.
A police source told PREMIUM TIMES on Friday morning that plans were underway to uncover Mr. Melaye’s location, especially since his family members did not say they received calls from anyone for ransom.
But just before noon on Friday, Mr. Melaye, whose social media accounts were missing in action since Thursday morning, suddenly posted an update on Twitter, announcing he had escaped the attack and thanking the public for showing concern for his safety.
The announcement shocked many, especially since there were already assumptions that Mr. Melaye might have faked his own abduction to excuse himself from a court appearance.
Sources close to him also hinted that Mr. Melaye had called in to inform them that he had escaped an attack, but needed time to recover from the shock before telling the public.
Several conspiracy theories about what happened to Mr. Melaye quickly shaped up, and by the weekend, some of them, especially the part that said he made a poor attempt at escaping court appearance, had become entrenched in the Nigerian social media
In a lengthy discussion with Premium Times on Saturday afternoon, Mr. Melaye narrated his own version of what he said unfolded along the Abuja-Lokoja Highway.
In all, he confirmed he was not abducted, but that he was not the architect of his ordeal either.
He said he was traveling from Abuja to Lokoja for a court appearance on Thursday morning and shortly after passing Gwagwalada, which is roughly 50 kilometers southwest of Abuja, a convoy of three vehicles drove recklessly by his vehicle, intercepting him on the highway and forcing him to stop.
He said the assailants tried to open fire to force themselves into the vehicle, only to realize that it was a well-fortified vehicle with bullet-proof. Without much time to waste at the scene, the attackers devised an alternative.
“They started shouting that they wanted to burn me, they said ‘burn him, burn him down,’ and crossed the road to look for tyres to set the vehicle on fire,” Mr. Melaye said.
As the attackers dispersed in different directions to scavenge for tyres, Mr. Melaye said he feared for his life and made an instinctive calculation to jump into the bush and bolt, rather than remained in the car in defiance.
“I jumped into the bush, and I started running,” Mr. Melaye said. “They pursued me and I was able to outmaneuver them and climb a tree.
“I was on top of the three when I saw them run past looking frantically for me. When they didn’t find me, they also ran back.”
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