Martins survives 'assassination attempt'
Newcastle United striker Obafemi Martins has revealed that he survived a shooting in Lagos when masked gunmen sprayed his car with bullets.
The Nigerian international was at a petrol station close to his apartment in the city on Monday night when the attack occurred. He escaped unhurt, but his friend Remi Onipede was hospitalised after being hit in the hand and shoulder, before police arrived.
"They shot indiscriminately and tried to kill all the occupants of the car. They weren't there to rob me but to finish me off," Martins told the Sun. "I thought I was going to die. They executed it like professional hired assassins. It was hell. I was dead in my heart and soul. It all happened like something in the movies.
"How I managed to escape is still shocking and unbelievable. Maybe someone up there loves me more than I could imagine."
Martins admitted he would be reluctant to return to Nigeria for international duty, hinting that the three-man gang's motive was revenge rather than robbery, after he missed a recent international. "I don't feel safe in Lagos any more," he said. "When the situation gets out of control I don't think coming home is something I can even contemplate.
"If you are attacked by armed robbers, they only threaten you and take whatever they want but these guys were only after my life. I was born in Lagos, I am a Lagosian. But when I don't feel safe in my hometown then something must be wrong. I am not running away from armed robbers but people who want to take the life of Obafemi Martins."
Newcastle United striker Obafemi Martins has revealed that he survived a shooting in Lagos when masked gunmen sprayed his car with bullets.
The Nigerian international was at a petrol station close to his apartment in the city on Monday night when the attack occurred. He escaped unhurt, but his friend Remi Onipede was hospitalised after being hit in the hand and shoulder, before police arrived.
"They shot indiscriminately and tried to kill all the occupants of the car. They weren't there to rob me but to finish me off," Martins told the Sun. "I thought I was going to die. They executed it like professional hired assassins. It was hell. I was dead in my heart and soul. It all happened like something in the movies.
"How I managed to escape is still shocking and unbelievable. Maybe someone up there loves me more than I could imagine."
Martins admitted he would be reluctant to return to Nigeria for international duty, hinting that the three-man gang's motive was revenge rather than robbery, after he missed a recent international. "I don't feel safe in Lagos any more," he said. "When the situation gets out of control I don't think coming home is something I can even contemplate.
"If you are attacked by armed robbers, they only threaten you and take whatever they want but these guys were only after my life. I was born in Lagos, I am a Lagosian. But when I don't feel safe in my hometown then something must be wrong. I am not running away from armed robbers but people who want to take the life of Obafemi Martins."
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