- Chukwu’s killers deserve wrath of natural justice —Buhari
- State under siege, NBA chairman laments
THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday announced the postponement of the Enugu East senatorial election earlier scheduled to hold today till March 11.
The election, INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu said at a press conference in Abuja yesterday, will hold alongside the governorship and House of Assembly elections.
The postponement followed the gruesome killing of the Enugu East senatorial candidate, Elder Oyibo Chukwu, after his campaign vehicle was attacked by some gunmen at Eke-Out Amechi-Awkunanaw, Enugu South Local Government Area on Wednesday.
The gunmen who operated in a Hilux vehicle also killed Chukwu’s personal assistant and set them ablaze with the vehicle they rode in.
Mahmood, however, said campaign in the senatorial district can continue up until 24 hours before the election holds on March 11.
“I expect the party to conduct primaries as early as next week. The campaign that ended last night (Thursday) was for presidential and national Assembly elections and not for the state and houses of assembly elections,” he said.
Outrage and wild condemnation have trailed the killing of Chukwu and his personal assistant, particularly as another set of armed hoodlums operating in a tricycle within the same area had in a similar fashion earlier that night attacked a PDP campaign mini bus at Topland by Ebony Paint Road, Amechi-Awkunanaw Enugu, using petrol bomb to set it ablaze and burning to death its driver identified as Enyeribe Kingsley Chinedu a.k.a. KC Great.
In his reaction to Chukwu’s gruesome killing yesterday, President Muhammadu Buhari said his killers deserved nothing less than the wrath of divine justice.
While the part of Enugu State where the senatorial aspirant was killed had become notorious for gunmen attacks and killing of individuals, none of the killings had generated as much reactions as did the killing of the LP candidate on Wednesday.
It will be recalled that in January 2022, a youth leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Enugu South LGA, Kelvin Ezeoha, and another party member, Chidera Ogaba, were brutally murdered when yet-to-be-identified gunmen invaded the APC Ward 111 reconciliation meeting at Obeagu in Enugu South Local Government Area at about 7 pm.
Also, during the local government council elections in February 2022, gunmen attacked voters and abducted journalists at Obeagu in Enugu South Local Government Area on their way to Agbani in Nkanu West Local Government Area. They also attacked the house of one of the politicians in Nkanu West and killed some policemen that were guarding the house.
The gory actions, particularly, the recent killing of Chukwu, drew the ire of many Enugu residents on both the social media and on the streets. Most residents of Enugu metropolis attributed the killing of the LP senatorial candidate to political assassination, which they said might have returned to the state after over a decade of peaceful coexistence.
Outraged by the incident, many Nigerians on social media, demanded justice for the victims and asked the Enugu State Government and other relevant stakeholders to ensure that justice is served.
Lawyers and judges in the five branches of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Enugu State on Thursday boycotted court sittings to express their anger over the gruesome killing of the LP candidate and former chairman of the association in Oji River branch. They believe that the murder of the politician was politically motivated, giving security agencies in the state 48 hours to fish out the perpetrators or await action from all the lawyers in the state.
Our correspondent, who monitored the situation in Enugu, observed that no court at the state’s high court complex and other courts across the state had sat between Thursday and Friday. Speaking with journalists during a protest at the court premises in Enugu, the Oji River Branch chairman of the NBA, Seth Nwokolo, decried the killing of the politician, expressing worries that the days of terror were gradually returning to Enugu.
“All we can say is that the death of Oyibo Chukwu is politically motivated. That is what we can say for now. We know that by the time investigations are conducted, we will be able to know those behind this atrocious act,” Nwokolo said.
He said the shutting of the courts in the state was a decision taken to urge government and security agencies to apprehend the killers of the lawyer and for human lives to be adequately protected.
His words: “We are here to protest over the gruesome killing of our former chairman, Elder Oyibo Chukwu. Chukwu was also the candidate for Labour Party in Enugu East Senatorial District.
“Elder Oyibo Chukwu, who we are talking about his death, was chairman of Oji River Branch between 2017 and 2019.
“Just this morning, the news filtered in that he was gruesomely murdered and assassinated in the company of his followers around Obeagu-Amaechi Road. We are pained by this sad news and we want the security agencies in Enugu State to ensure that the perpetrators of this heinous act are brought to book.
“We are giving them 48 hours to ensure that the killers are brought to justice. The bar in Enugu State is very embittered with this development. If after 48 hours nothing happens, we will take a very necessary step as lawyers.
“Already, we have started with boycotting court proceedings in all the courts in Enugu State. Those who were not aware of our decision rose immediately the information got to them, because an injury to one is an injury to all.”
His counterpart in Ezeagu, Chijioke Eze, said: “We are worried that we are not far from the days when political killings were ravaging Enugu State. Witnessing gruesome murder again at this time is a very painful one.
“The incident that occurred, coming barely 72 hours before the election, is very painful, very pathetic and does not speak well of our electoral process; that in Nigeria, people now go through the buying of the gun instead of going through the ballot boxes.
“I feel pained, deeply pained knowing the victim. And in Enugu State, we thought that we were now far from the days when we used to witness this type of gruesome murder but coming at this time is a very painful one.”
No ambition is worth any individual’s life – Nweke Jnr
The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the state, Mr. Frank Nweke Jnr, condemned Chukwu’s killing, saying that no ambition is worth the life of any individual in the 21st Century democracy.
Nweke, in a statement in Enugu on Thursday, expressed shock and sadness over the news of the murder of Chukwu and several others.
“We also received reports of a similar attack on a campaign vehicle of the People’s Democratic Party, leaving one person dead,” he said.
“I condemn these heinous acts and send my condolences to the families and friends of the victims.
“No ambition is worth the life of any individual, and our politics must evolve past this insatiable thirst for power and violence has no place in 21st-century democracy.
“These violent attacks leave deep scars on our growing democracy and seek to undermine the importance of the 2023 general elections by instilling fear in the hearts of our people”.
The APGA candidate encouraged Enugu people and, indeed, Nigerians to stay calm and urge the authorities to speedily move forward with a thorough investigation and bring the perpetrators to book.
Nnamani condemns killings, attacks
Also, former Governor of Enugu State and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Chimaroke Nnamani, condemned the attacks and killings in the state that have claimed the lives of some politicians and urged the security operatives not to leave any stone unturned to bring the perpetrators to justice.
Nnamani, who is representing Enugu East in the Senate, said the perpetrators of the heinous crimes are enemies of the people that must be fished out forthwith, insisting that anything to the contrary will be a disservice to God and humanity.
He condemned the attacks in no unmistakable terms and urged governments and the citizens to rise up against the perpetrators who are planning to disrupt the elections in the Southeast region.
Enugu under siege, says Enugu NBA chairman Nwagbara
The Chairman of the NBA in Enugu State, Chief Charles Nwagbara, who said legal practitioners in the state were grieving over the death of one of their own, expressed worries that the state was now under siege.
He said: “This is an unfortunate incident. We are grieving because it shouldn’t have happened to Oyibo or anyone else. We are witnesses to the killings that have ravaged our society, Enugu and Nigeria in general. It is not peculiar to us. It is not common to us.
“For me and the reasonable number of our members, our concern is that if this has happened to Oyibo Chukwu, who knows who else will be the next target?”
Police CP orders intensified investigation, manhunt of suspects
The Commissioner of Police, Enugu State Command, Ahmed Ammani, on Thursday “ordered the intensification of discreet investigation and manhunt for the subversive criminal elements suspected to be IPOB/ESN renegades, who in the night hours of 22/02/2023 at different locations, ambushed and simultaneously attacked and murdered People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party (LP) members, and also attempted to attack the convoy of the All Progressive Congress (APC) Governorship Candidate”.
The Commissioner gave the order after visiting the scenes of the incidents at Topland by Ebony Paint Road and Eke-Otu both in Amechi-Awkunanaw, Enugu.
The commissioner, while strongly condemning the barbaric acts, commiserated with the parties and family members of the deceased, vowing to ensure that the perpetrators were fished out and made to face the full wrath of the law.
He, therefore, reaffirmed the commitment of the Police and other security agencies to adequate security for peaceful and credible elections in the state, while urging the citizens not to succumb to the “cowardly antics” of the hoodlums, which he said is aimed at creating fear and to disrupt the electoral process.
Chukwu’s killers deserve the wrath of natural justice — Buhari
President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday condemned the gruesome murder of the Enugu East Senatorial candidate of the Labour Party and directed security agencies to hunt down the perpetrators.
The President, who commiserated with the family of the deceased, observed that the killers have shown that they have no respect for human life and therefore deserve the wrath of natural and divine justice.
In a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, President Buhari reaffirmed his commitment to ensuring that this year’s elections are rancour-free and eligible electorate have an atmosphere that guarantees their freedom to exercise their franchises.
“President Muhammadu Buhari strongly condemns the gruesome killing of Chief Oyibo Chukwu, the Labour Party senatorial candidate for Enugu East Senatorial District and his personal aide.
“The President believes that the perpetrators of this ignoble act, in Awkunanaw, Enugu South Local Government Area of Enugu State, have no respect for human life and dignity, and therefore deserve the wrath of natural and divine justice.
“The President affirms his avowed commitment to an election that is devoid of violence and rancour.
“He reminds all political actors that it is the choice of the electorate that counts, and therefore all eligible Nigerians should boldly exercise their civic rights without any fear of intimidation.
“The President directs security agencies to track down the culprits of this heinous crime, even as he commiserates with families of the victims, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and the Labour Party.
“President Buhari prays for the repose of the souls of the deceased and comfort for those who mourn,” the statement said.