Gunmen Kill Ohanaeze Youth Leader’s Father, INEC Official In Ebonyi

Gunmen suspected to be kidnappers have killed the father of the national youth leader of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Mr Okafor Aja, 72, and an official of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Ebonyi State, Mr Emmanuel Igwe. The late Igwe hailed from Uburu in Ohaozara local government area of the state.

They were killed by suspected kidnappers on the Ishiagu/Mpu Road in Ivo local government area of Ebonyi State. The INEC official was an assistant electoral officer in Afikpo North local government area.

While confirming the incident, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo national youth leader, Mazi Damian Okafor, said the kidnappers suspected to be herdsmen who operated on the Ishiagu/Mpu Road abducted the wife of the INEC officer having shot and killed the husband.

He said in a bid to escape into the bush with the abducted woman, the kidnappers ran into his father who was harvesting his yam in the farm and on sighting him, they attacked and killed him with a machete.

Okafor said the suspected herdsmen must have killed the father in a bid for him not to reveal the bush path they took, adding that the suspects had been unleashing mayhem on innocent motorists and commuters plying the Ishiagu/Mpu axis of the road.

He revealed that the incident was said to have happened yesterday at about 12 noon adding that the matter has been reported to the police at Ivo Divisional Headquarters.

He, however expressed concern that since the incident happened, nothing much has been done by the police to ensure a manhunt for the suspected herdsmen noting that the whereabouts of the abducted woman is yet unknown.

A security expert in the state who also confirmed the attack yesterday said that suspected kidnappers had also last week shot and killed another man who hails from Akaeze also in Ivo local government area of the state.

It would be recalled that hundreds of women from Ishiagu in Ivo local government area of the state had last months staged a protest to condemn the incessant attacks by suspected herdsmen along the road which later resulted into a violent protest that led to the destruction of the residents of prominent personalities of the local government.

Governor Nwifuru had also last week appointed and sworn in special assistants on internal security in all the local government areas of the state with a mandate to curb insecurity in the state especially communal clashes and kidnappings.

Efforts to get the reaction of the state police public relations officer, Onome Onovwakpoyeya were unsuccessful.