Gunmen Kill INEC Official, Farmer
Gunmen on Sunday killed two people in Ishiagu, a community in Ivo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.
Among the slain is Ajah Okafor, father of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth wing member, Damian Okafor.
The other victim, it was gathered, is an official of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Emmanuel Igwe.
His wife was reportedly abducted by the gunmen, who intercepted their car along the Ishiagu-Mpu Road in the area.
A security source in the area said the incident happened around 12 midnight.
Ishiagu is a border community and a gateway to Abia and Enugu states. Mpu in Enugu state and Lokpanta in Abia are its neighbours.
The Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth wing member, Damian, has confirmed to our reporter the killing of his father.
He said the gunmen after attacking the car the INEC official was driving abducted his wife and fled into the bush.
“In their bid to escape, they ran into my father, who was on his farm tending to his crops. They proceeded to kill my father so that he will not raise alarm and expose their presence in the area,” he said.
The INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in Ebonyi has confirmed the killing of the commission’s official and the abduction of the wife.
She identified the slain official as Emmanuel Igwe, an assistant electoral officer in Afikpo North Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.
The slain official and his wife were on their way back from Abia State when the gunmen attacked them, the resident electoral commissioner said.
The police spokesperson in the state, Onome Onvwakpoyeya, also confirmed the incident.
She said the gunmen, suspected to be herders, shot the man in the head through the windshield of his car.
The gunmen used a knife to cut the throat of the second victim who was killed on the farm, she said.
“There is a manhunt for the gunmen,” she added.
The security source, who spoke to our reporter, lamented the upsurge in crimes in Ishiagu, noting that one person was killed last week by suspected kidnappers in Akaeze, a neighbouring community in the same local government area.
In March, the palace of the community’s monarch, Moses Ngele was vandalised during a protest by women of the community.
The women had declared a weeklong peaceful protest against the killings and kidnapping of residents by suspected herders.
The protest, which lingered for four days, later turned violent leading to the vandalisation of the Monarch’s palace by hoodlums who allegedly hijacked the protest.
Despite the protests, the security situation in the area has continued to deteriorate.
Sources in the area have accused the police and other security agencies of not doing enough to stop the attacks by gunmen in the area.
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