Gunmen kill INEC staff, one other, abduct woman in Ebonyi
A staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Emmanuel Igwe, has been reportedly shot dead by armed men suspected to be herdsmen, in Ebonyi State.
His wife was also abducted by the suspected herders.
Her whereabouts were yet to be ascertained.
They (the suspected herders) also allegedly murdered the father of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth leader in the state.
The INEC staff, an Assistant Electoral Officer in the Afikpo North Local Government Area of the state, encountered the attackers while on his way back from Abia State in the Ishiagu area of the Uturu-Okigwe axis, on Sunday night with his wife, when he was shot dead and his wife kidnapped.
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When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer in Ebonyi State, Superintendent of Police, Onome Onovwakpoyeya, who confirmed that the incident occurred on Sunday, said the gunmen shot the victim through his car’s windscreen.
“We have begun a manhunt for the assailants. We are hopeful that they will be apprehended. The victim was shot through the windscreen of his car,” he said.
Further confirming the incident, the Youth Leader of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Engr Damian Okoafor, whose father was also killed, on Monday, said the suspected herders invaded the community, on Sunday, and carried out the horrible act.
“Suspected herdsmen attacked the Ishiagu community again, killed my father, one other person and abducted one,” he said.
It was gathered that in recent times, the route linking the Ivo axis of Ebonyi State through the Okigwe area of Imo State has become a den for kidnappers masquerading as Fulani herdsmen.
Motorists are usually not seen on that route as they have chosen alternative routes to Imo, Abia and Enugu States.
