Gunmen kill PETROAN member, abduct BoT chair in Abia
Some yet-to-be-identified gunmen on Tuesday abducted the Board of Trustees Chairman of the Petroleum Retailers Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria, Obasi Lawson, in the Azumini community of Abia State.
This is just as the gunmen killed his driver, Anayo Ukwu, and his Special Assistant, Mazi Confidence Chijioke, who also doubles as the Vice President of the association in Rivers State while accompanying the BoT chairman in his vehicle.
The PETROAN National Publicity Secretary, Joseph Obele, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday evening noting that the gunmen ambushed Obasi’s vehicle, and abducted and killed his driver and aide.
Obele, while condemning the incident, described the death of the SA and the driver as a loss to the association.
He said, “The incident occurred on Tuesday, March 4, 2025, at around 7 pm, when Chief Obasi Lawson’s SUV was ambushed, resulting in the death of his driver, Mr Anayo Ukwu, and his Special Assistant, Mazi Confidence Chijioke, who were with him. Meanwhile, the three policemen with them escaped.
“Mazi Confidence Chijioke was a highly respected member of PETROAN, serving as the Vice Chairman of the Rivers State Chapter, Managing Director of Dozzman filling stations, and holding various other positions within PETROAN.
“The association is deeply concerned about the whereabouts of Chief Obasi Lawson and is requesting that the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, investigate the three policemen who were part of the team during the incident.”
He urged the IG to deploy the necessary resources to rescue the abducted BoT chairman.
The National Publicity Secretary also condoled with the families of the deceased persons.
“PETROAN is urgently calling on the Inspector General of Police to intervene in the search for their Board of Trustees Chairman, Chief Obasi Lawson, who was attacked in Azumini community, Abia State.
“The association has also extended its condolences to the family of Mazi Confidence Chijioke and the PETROAN state leadership in Rivers State headed by Sir Francis Dimkpa.
“His death is a significant loss, especially since he was preparing to inaugurate his latest multimillion-naira filling station in Port Harcourt,” Obele concluded.
Efforts to get the reaction of the Abia State Police Public Relations Officer, Maureen Chinaka, proved abortive as she had yet to respond to calls made to her line at the time of filing this report.
