Martin Amaewhule.

The Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Martin Amaewhule, says he is grateful to God for sparing his life after surviving kidnap and several assassination attempts in recent years.

Mr Amaewhule spoke on Sunday during his 52nd birthday thanksgiving service at the All Saints Anglican Church, Eliozu, in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of the state.

“I am not just marking another birthday but acknowledging that many people had planned to take my life in the last one year, but God didn’t allow them,” he said.

The speaker recalled how, in 2008, he narrowly escaped death after unidentified gunmen abducted him at his residence shortly after a church service.

“Some of you were here in 2008 when a preacher was preaching right here during a Sunday service. On that faithful day, I didn’t know the people who came to kidnap me were also in the service. After service, they tactically followed me to my residence, tied up my security guard and abducted me,” Mr Amaewhule recounted.

He said his captors took him into a forest where he was held hostage for five days.

“They placed thorns under my feet and inflicted several injuries on my head and body while moving me from one hideout to another within the forest. They fed me with biscuits throughout the period, even as I almost bled to death,” he added.

Mr Amaewhule, a close ally of Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike, has been a central figure in the protracted political standoff between Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his predecessor. The crisis led President Bola Tinubu to declare a six-month emergency rule in Rivers State, suspending the governor, his deputy, and lawmakers, including the speaker.

The emergency rule was recently lifted, and all elected officials, including Mr Amaewhule, have since returned to office.

The speaker expressed gratitude for God’s protection and preservation, noting, “When God does things for you, it is important to appreciate Him for more.”