Just In : Gunmen K!ll House of representatives candidate

Gunmen have killed a former House of Representatives candidate from Anambra State, Jude Oguejiofor.

Mr Oguejiofor hailed from Orsumoghu in Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra but lived in Nnewi in Nnewi North Local Government Area of the state.

Mr Oguejiofor, also a lawyer, contested for the Ihiala Federal Constituency House of Representatives seat in the 2023 general elections under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party.

Sources told PREMIUM TIMES that the politician was abducted around 1 a.m. last week, alongside his brother by some gunmen.

The incident happened in the Orsumoghu Community where they had gone to see their aged parents.

But the gunmen later released his brother unhurt.

The brother is a medical doctor who recently came back from a foreign country.

A source close to the family, who asked not to be named, told this newspaper that the gunmen accused Mr Oguejiofor of writing petitions against them and their activities in the community.

“They said he had been writing petitions against them to the Anambra State Government,” the source said.

‘Father fainted, died’
Meanwhile, the source said Mr Oguejiofor’s father fainted and died on Thursday when the gunmen contacted the family and informed them that they had killed the politician.

A lawyer, Chidi Ibekaeme, told this newspaper that the lawyer could have avoided his community given that he had been vocal about the rising attacks by gunmen in the area.

Mr Ibekaeme hails from Orsu-Ihiteukwa, a community in Orsu Local Government Area of Imo State which shares a boundary with the politician’s community.

“His (Oguejiofor’s) community is very volatile. The community is virtually run down and taken over by these criminals who say they are agitating for freedom,” he said.

When contacted on Monday, the police spokesperson in Anambra State told PREMIUM TIMES he had no information on the incident.

Worsening insecurity
Like other states in Nigeria’s south-east, security has deteriorated in Anambra State, with frequent attacks by armed persons.

Ihiala is among the council areas in Anambra State worst hit by insecurity.

The attacks often target security agencies, government officials, and facilities.

The Nigerian government has accused the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) of being responsible for the deadly attacks in the region. However, the group has repeatedly denied any involvement in the attacks.
IPOB is leading the agitation for an independent state of Biafra which it wants carved out from the south-east and some parts of south-south Nigeria.